The issue of the great switchover to digital radio is a tricky one to solve for the car industry.
At home, simply buying a new DAB radio, listening through the internet or even through your TV will solve the problem when the analogue signal is switched off, but all of these are a bit more tricky in the car, which is where plenty of the radio listening audience resides.
So it will be a while yet before a timescale is even set out for the turn-off, but it’s another factor that should be taken into consideration when speccing new vehicles, as you can guarantee that the issue will be a whole lot higher up the consciousness of used buyers three or four years from now than it is at the moment.
And rather than boosting the used values for vehicles fitted with radios, it seems likely that those without will find their values dropping.
At present, only BMW, Mini and Jaguar offer a digital radio as standard with every model they sell in the UK, with BMW only as of January and having put the price of the cars up to cover the additional kit. Land Rover is also there with the exception of the entry Range Rover Sport, according to the comprehensive data provided to us by Kwik Carcost, and there are a few isolated commendable standard fitments across the range, such as the new Vauxhall Adam and the Zafira Tourer, as well as various Mercedes and VW models, while Ford is also at the forefront of offering the technology.
But worryingly, at this stage nearly a dozen of the biggest business car brands in the UK don’t even offer a digital radio as an option on any model in their range. The car industry has some changing to do. And fast.
This article first appeared on BusinessCar.
Content from our partners
Related
