From Phoenix to the Navajo Nation, AM radio stations continue to transmit bilingual news and entertainment. But some car manufacturers have dropped the technology from certain vehicles as alternative technology has risen.
WASHINGTON – The technology may be more than a century old, but AM radio waves continue to carry safety alerts, news and entertainment in multiple languages across Arizona.
Now, national lawmakers are working to keep drivers tuned in with a bipartisan bill that would require AM radio in new passenger vehicles, despite pushback from car manufacturers.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the bill, known as the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025,” last month, and it awaits a decision from the Senate. Previous versions of the legislation going back to 2023 stalled in Congress.
Over the past decade, manufacturers including BMW, Mazda, Tesla and Volkswagen have stopped putting AM radio in electric vehicle models. The technology in electric vehicles in particular can cause interference for AM radio waves, prompting manufacturers to invest in engineering solutions that reduce interference or remove AM receivers altogether.
Gary Shapiro, executive chair of the Consumer Technology Association, said the bill would be an unnecessary government mandate with other communication technology widely available.
“America is about choice, and given how few people actually listen to AM radio, it seems wasteful and harmful to electric vehicles to require an AM radio in every car,” Shapiro said in a written statement.
John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, opposed a mandate before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee in April 2024.
“Automakers consider several factors when making decisions on vehicle design and features,” Bozella said in a witness statement. “This may vary among manufacturers but is based on extensive research, testing and regulatory analysis – while prioritizing safety and consumer preferences.”
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation did not respond to a request for comment about the passage of the current house bill.
The proponents behind the bill argue AM radio is a necessary safety feature.
Don Brown, who owns AM/FM stations in Nevada and Arizona, said he worries that without oversight, manufacturers will begin to phase out other radio technology until passenger vehicles only carry subscriber-only listening options.
Brown said his AM station’s signal in Phoenix reaches from Wickenburg to Casa Grande, broadcasting a mix of Latino music targeted at an 18 to 34-year-old audience, and recently, allowing listeners to tune into local live shows.
Beyond being an option for entertainment on the road, he said the radio becomes necessary for alerts during emergencies.
“You’re driving cross country and you have a crisis coming, weather issues, you’re not going to hear it on the internet,” Brown said. “You’re not going to hear it on your Spotify.”
In 2023, seven former Federal Emergency Management Agency leaders sent a letter to the then-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg urging him to ensure automotive manufacturers continue to put AM in vehicles.
“Because of the great distances that its signal carries, and due to its resiliency during even the worst natural disasters, the success of the National Public Warning System hinges on the use of AM radio,” the letter said.
Laura Madrid runs an AM/FM radio station in Phoenix that broadcasts live Spanish news throughout Maricopa County. She said the station acts as a trusted hub for keeping people informed about local news.
She said her station connects listeners to community resources and ensures they know what is happening politically in the state.
“We’ve been keeping the public informed since 2005, whether it be policy, whether it be pandemic, whether it be during the 2008 Recession,” she said. “It’s important for us to be able to continue to do that.”
Loris Taylor, the president and CEO of Native Public Media, said having AM radio is especially important for certain Native American tribal communities that are spread out over vast rural areas in and around Arizona.
“Perhaps because cellular service is not robust, or where electrical service can go out during a severe storm, it makes the reliance of AM radio essential for information,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s organization provides services and resources to Native American radio and TV stations across the country, like KTNN, which broadcasts programming in English and Navajo on AM and FM channels from its station in Window Rock, Arizona.
Justin C. Ahasteen, then the Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office, testified before the 2024 House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. He told lawmakers that while KTNN does broadcast in FM, which has better quality, the AM signal spans much further across over 27,000 square miles that make up the Navajo Nation.
“Most remote communities across the reservation exclusively use and rely on AM radio to stay informed with current world and local news in the Navajo language,” he told the subcommittee in his witness statement.
Taylor said beyond emergency alerts, tribal radio stations provide hyperlocal programming for their communities.
“You’ll hear perhaps a program on the cultural activities of the community,” she said. “You’ll hear about public affairs relating to the civic health of their community, which may be a focus on education one day, perhaps on Hantavirus for some of the Arizona stations or some of the Southwest stations.”
Shapiro, of the Consumer Technology Association, believes many car companies will continue to place AM radios in their vehicles.
“Many car manufacturers would simply like the legal ability to remove AM radios for certain models aimed at certain demographics or regions,” Shapiro said. “Why should every American have to pay a radio tax when they buy a new car?”
Taylor would like to see the continued inclusion of AM radios in all vehicles.
“For rural communities, it’s super important that our communities are not left behind during emergencies and that we have access to information when it really matters,” she said.
The “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” would require the Government Accountability Office to “study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts to the public.” Ten years after the bill’s implementation, the mandate for manufacturers would sunset.
For car models made without AM radios before the mandate would go into effect, companies would be required to notify buyers through clear labeling. Companies would also be prohibited from charging a fee for AM radio access.
Though the bill received broad endorsement from the House, it will still need to clear the Senate and the president in order to become law.
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