Radio-free Europe

This probably isn’t what R.E.M. had in mind. ?Car makers Stellantis and Renault, in Europe, ?have launched two vehicles – the Dacia Duster and the Citroen e-C3 - without radio receivers.? The companies have done this in spite of a European Commission digital radio mandate for cars and with little media outcry.

Stellantis and Renault have introduced both vehicles to great fanfare as affordable EVs without compromises, at least according to the enthusiastic reviews I found online.? It’s clear that both companies found a loophole in the European Commission’s digital radio mandate.? While the mandate requires that integrated radios be digital, it does not require there to be a radio in the first place.

The wording of the original legislation:

“Any car radio receiver integrated in a new vehicle of category M which is made available on the market for sale or rent in the Union from 21 December 2020 shall comprise a receiver capable of receiving and reproducing at least radio services provided via digital terrestrial radio broadcasting.”? Unless, of course, there is no radio at all.

The arrival of these two new radio-free car models coincides with an initiative on the part of the EBU – the European Broadcasting Union (a global alliance of public broadcasters) – called “the Playbook” for convincing or coercing auto makers to ensure prominent radio access interfaces and to prioritize terrestrial broadcast sources over streaming sources when searching for stations.? Given the significant market presence and influence of the EBU, the suggestions presented in the playbook bear more than a hint of a threat of regulatory intervention.

Given the existing digital radio adoption process in the European Union, supported broadly by legislation and mandates, the playbook points the way toward further regulatory interventions potentially touching on in-vehicle user interfaces.? It is difficult to think of a more hideous prospect than the EU dictating radio user interfaces – though the recent Euro NCAP actions requiring physical buttons or switches for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, horns and eCall starting in January 2026 for cars to receive the highest safety rating indicate more than a passing interest in interfaces.

The deletion of radios entirely by Stellantis and Renault is nothing less than a shot across the bow of the broadcast industry.? At least these two car makers are sufficiently fed up with the challenge of delivering an interference-free experience in a low-cost EV, that it is worth ditching the radio entirely – with a clear nod to smartphone mirroring as a viable alternative – as suggested in the car reviews.

Even more worrisome is the deafening silence from consumers and regulators.? It appears that the Citroen and Dacia deletions have been received as a non-event.

This is quite different from the uproar in the U.S. when the question of AM radio deletion in EVs was surfaced and the U.S. Congress proposed an AM radio mandate.? Opposition to such a mandate arose swiftly and comprehensively from the Consumer Technology Association, the American Enterprise Institute, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Zero Emission Transportation Association.

Support for the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act was bipartisan in Congress and also came from the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the New Jersey Broadcasters Association.? AM radio was seen as essential for emergency communications as well as for its support of religious broadcasters, talk radio, and foreign language broadcasts.

Speaking with the weight of the CTA behind him, association president Gary Shapiro falsely cited the “free” availability of AM transmissions via streaming sources and SiriusXM satellite radio.? He further suggested that depending solely on AM radio broadcasts for emergency communications was ridiculous.? What he failed to recognize was the efficacy of using AM to reach drivers of cars – especially given broadcast radio’s proven resilience during extreme weather events.

The legislation failed to progress in the U.S.? And now, Stellantis and Renault have shown the way forward to an in-car radio-free future – an alarming prospect when as much as 50% of all radio listening is occurring in cars.

The most powerful argument made by the CTA’s Shapiro was that radio’s future ought to be determined by the market and shouldn’t be preserved ad infinitum based on some legislative whim.? If consumers in Europe or anywhere else in the world reject Stellantis’ and Renault's radio-deletion strategy, the companies will face the consequences of the open market.

Actually the deletion of radio is part of a broader trend, the countering of which is reflected in the Euro NCAP physical interface requirements.? The Citroen e-C3 takes the Tesla-like approach of eliminating the instrument cluster.? Consumers may well welcome these changes in the interest of lower prices – but the jury is still out.

In response, broadcasters would do well to refine their digital offerings and upgrade their metadata presence to better leverage the array of emerging technologies enabling in-vehicle search and content recommendations along with relevant contextual data and alerts.? The only rational response to the deletion of radio is to deliver a superior user experience intended to make Dacia and Citroen drivers envious.? Let the market decide which is best.

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I will be joining many other notable industry experts at the upcoming WorldDAB Automotive 2024 event in Prague, Czechia, June 13th.? You can register here: ?https://www.worlddab.org/events/detail/663#registration? It’s worth noting that Radio Free Europe is headquartered in Prague.? ??