United Kingdom - Automotive - History
27.04.2015
New data from CAP/SMMT shows that in March, 64.9% of new car registrations had digital radio as standard, up from 50.7% the previous March. March is the largest registration month of the year and the month of March 2015 saw a record 320,000 new cars sold with DAB as standard, an increase of 36% year on year. In total 1.5 million cars were registered with digital radio as standard in the year to March 2015. An additional 10% of cars also have digital radio available as a cost option, meaning that three-quarters (75%) of new cars in the UK now have digital radio available as standard or as an option.
The strong shift to digital radio in new cars comes as UK new car sales have rebounded to reach new record levels. Overall new car registrations for March 2015 were a record 492,774 new cars, of which 302,000 came with DAB as standard.
According to RAJAR, 61% of all radio listeners listen in the car and 22.2% of all radio listening takes place in car (RAJAR Q4 2014).
Of the top 20 selling car brands in the UK 5 of them have digital radio as standard in 100% of all models – Audi, BMW, Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar – while a further 8 have digital radio as standard in the majority of all models – Ford, Vauxhall, VW, Nissan, Mercedes, Toyota, Citroen and Skoda.
From September 2014, 11.8% of new commercial vehicles now have digital radio as standard compared with 1.4% in September 2013.
With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns.
RAC launches digital radio installation service
The RAC has launched an online digital radio installation service with fully fitted adapters from £149.99 [see here]. There are currently two products available, the AutoDAB Connect (£149.99 fitted) and the JustDRIVE DAB (£219.99 fitted) - both tick mark approved.
Digital Radio UK - Digital Dashboard Audit
Consumers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the norm; 61.1% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user experience. Read the full report here.
Service Following
Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have set up a test area to demonstrate the DAB service following system. The objective of setting up this test is to provide DAB radio receiver manufacturers with an ETSI standard-compliant demonstration of service following use cases, as defined in ETSI 103 176, and to confirm the UK Broadcast Digital Radio Technical Codes and Guidance published by OFCOM. The UK’s service following test route has been set up and is now live. Service following is required as part of the minimum specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products. Download the Service Following Test Route Technical Document. For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.
17.04.2015
Digital Radio UK announced in April 2015 that there were 450,000 new cars registered in Q1 2015 with digital radio as standard, according to CAP/SMMT, an increase of 100,000 vs Q1 2104 and 130,000 vs Q4 2014. In the last year nearly 1.5 million of new cars registered in the UK have had digital radio fitted as standard. In Q1 2015 the percentage of all cars sold with digital radio as standard was 61.1%, a significant increase from 50.4% in Q1 2014 and 35.4% in Q1 2013.
The strong shift to digital radio in new cars comes as UK new car sales have rebounded to reach new record levels. Overall new car registrations for March 2015 were a record 492,774 new cars, of which 302,000 came with DAB as standard.
According to RAJAR, 61% of all radio listeners listen in the car and 22.2% of all radio listening takes place in car (RAJAR Q4 2014).
Of the top 20 selling car brands in the UK 5 of them have digital radio as standard in 100% of all models – Audi, BMW, Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar – while a further 8 have digital radio as standard in the majority of all models – Ford, Vauxhall, VW, Nissan, Mercedes, Toyota, Citroen and Skoda.
From September 2014, 11.8% of new commercial vehicles now have digital radio as standard compared with 1.4% in September 2013.
With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns.
RAC launches digital radio installation service
The RAC has launched an online digital radio installation service with fully fitted adapters from £149.99 [see here]. There are currently two products available, the AutoDAB Connect (£149.99 fitted) and the JustDRIVE DAB (£219.99 fitted) - both tick mark approved.
Digital Radio UK - Digital Dashboard Audit
Consumers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the norm; 61.1% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user experience. Read the full report here.
Service Following
Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have set up a test area to demonstrate the DAB service following system. The objective of setting up this test is to provide DAB radio receiver manufacturers with an ETSI standard-compliant demonstration of service following use cases, as defined in ETSI 103 176, and to confirm the UK Broadcast Digital Radio Technical Codes and Guidance published by OFCOM. The UK’s service following test route has been set up and is now live. Service following is required as part of the minimum specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products. Download the Service Following Test Route Technical Document. For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.
13.04.2015
Digital Radio UK announced in April 2015 that there were 450,000 new cars registered in Q1 2015 with digital radio as standard, according to CAP/SMMT, an increase of 100,000 vs Q1 2104 and 130,000 vs Q4 2014. In the last year nearly 1.5 million of new cars registered in the UK have had digital radio fitted as standard. In Q1 2015 the percentage of all cars sold with digital radio as standard was 61.1%, a significant increase from 50.4% in Q1 2014 and 35.4% in Q1 2013.
The strong shift to digital radio in new cars comes as UK new car sales have rebounded to reach new record levels. Overall new car registrations for March 2015 were a record 492,774 new cars, of which 302,000 came with DAB as standard.
According to RAJAR, 61% of all radio listeners listen in the car and 22.2% of all radio listening takes place in car (RAJAR Q4 2014).
Of the top 20 selling car brands in the UK 5 of them have digital radio as standard in 100% of all models – Audi, BMW, Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar – while a further 8 have digital radio as standard in the majority of all models – Ford, Vauxhall, VW, Nissan, Mercedes, Toyota, Citroen and Skoda.
From September 2014, 11.8% of new commercial vehicles now have digital radio as standard compared with 1.4% in September 2013.
With over 35 million cars on the road, the challenge (and opportunity) remains in the aftermarket. Digital Radio UK is working with the industry to support the growing aftermarket with consistent media and in-store promotional campaigns.
Digital Radio UK - Digital Dashboard Audit
Consumers love digital radio in cars, and DAB digital radio is increasingly becoming the
norm; 58% of new cars in the UK now come with DAB as standard. However, the introduction of
connected cars and changes to digital dashboards could affect the ability of drivers to access
broadcast radio. Digital Radio UK has conducted a Digital Dashboard Audit to find out if
radio is still prominent on dashboards and assess the implications of connectivity on the user
experience. Read the full report here.
Service Following
Alongside the launch of the Digital Radio Certification Mark; Arqiva, Global Radio and Digital Radio UK have set up a test area to demonstrate the DAB service following system. The objective of setting up this test is to provide DAB radio receiver manufacturers with an ETSI standard-compliant demonstration of service following use cases, as defined in ETSI 103 176, and to confirm the UK Broadcast Digital Radio Technical Codes and Guidance published by OFCOM. The UK’s service following test route has been set up and is now live. Service following is required as part of the minimum specification for in-vehicle products, therefore this test route will be useful for manufacturers to test their products. Download the Service Following Test Route Technical Document. For more information contact Sam Bonham, Technology Development Manager, Digital Radio UK sam.bonham@digitalradiouk.com.