AM/FM remains the largest source of in-car audio time among electric-vehicle users, but its share is lower than for the population overall, according to an October 28 Edison Research at SSRS analysis.
Radio accounts for 42% of in-car listening time among Americans age 13 and older whose primary vehicle is an EV, compared with 53% for the total population. The EV category includes both drivers and passengers.
Streaming music takes 22% of EV users’ in-car audio time versus 17% overall. SiriusXM’s corresponding shares are 20% and 16%.
Share of time is not audience reach
These percentages describe how listening time is divided, not the percentage of people who use radio. They also compare groups; they do not show that buying an EV causes a listener to abandon a station.
Share of Ear uses a one-day listening diary. Its general methodology describes 1,000 respondents age 13 and older per quarter. The public EV summary does not identify the EV subgroup size or uncertainty around these particular estimates.
What stations can do with the finding
The useful response is to investigate access and experience: can listeners locate the station, launch its stream and identify it correctly on a vehicle display? RNN recently covered the international campaign for radio’s dashboard prominence.
The research supports closer attention to different listening environments. It does not establish whether dashboard design, audience characteristics or other factors explain the difference.