DAB+ radio has established as standard in new European cars
This step-change reflects the impact of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), which, from December 2020, requires all new car radios in the EU to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio.
Even Germany, for many years the laggard in equipping vehicles with digital radio receivers, has now reached a level of 80 % (see picture). Only Denmark is still behind; in the period studied, however, 62 % of new vehicles had a digital radio installed. The pioneers in the acceptance of this technology have always been Norway and the United Kingdom, with 100 % and 99 % equipment levels respectively.
The growth in receiver sales has been driven also by market forces: France will launch nation-wide DAB+ services in October 2021, Germany launched a second national DAB+ multiplex for commercial radio in October 2020, and in the UK has seen DAB listening overtake FM for the first time.
Several EU countries – including Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy – have already introduced regulations to implement the EECC directive into national legislation, while other countries – including The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Malta – have initiated procedures to implement the EECC into national legislation.
Other highlights from the WorldDAB report include:
- In Switzerland, 73% of all radio listening is via digital platforms, and 41% of all listening is on DAB+. Switzerland has confirmed FM will be switched off by January 2023
- Nearly 47 million receivers have been shipped in the UK, with 67% of households having at least one DAB receiver
- In Italy, sales of consumer DAB+ receivers more than doubled in 2020 (up 126%) following the introduction of rules requiring all receivers to have DAB+ from 1st January 2020
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