Ford Motor Company made a U-turn Tuesday, as CEO Jim Farley announced on LinkedIn that the automaker will keep AM radios in its vehicles, after all, a change from the company’s announced plan to remove the widely used broadcast system from its 2024 models.
The decision applies to both gasoline-powered and electric vehicles in Ford’s lineup, Farley said, acknowledging the role AM radios have in the emergency alert system ecosystem.
“After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it on all 2024 Ford & Lincoln vehicles,” Farley wrote.
Farley also said the company would come up with a solution for owners of electric Ford vehicles that don’t have AM radios, by providing software updates to these electric vehicles owners so they can install them.
“Customers can currently listen to AM radio content in a variety of ways in our vehicles — including via streaming — and we will continue to innovate to deliver even better in-vehicle entertainment and emergency notification options in the future,” he said.
Other carmakers that earlier said they will eliminate AM radios in upcoming models — ostensibly because they interfere with the car electronics — have not yet made a similar announcement. That list includes Tesla, BMS, Mazda, and Volkswagen.
