A recent survey has revealed that the traditional car radio stereo system is still popular among many car owners.

While it may seem that connectivity widgets and infotainment systems are taking over vehicle dashboards, it seems that the old fashioned car radio is not ready to give way just yet as there is nothing to challenge it.

In the latest car infotainment survey conducted by the In-Vehicle UX (IVX) group at Strategy Analytics, it was found that the top source of in car entertainment for UK drivers remains the AM/FM radio, although daily use of the system remains in a steady decline.

The number of consumers who regard an in-vehicle CD player as a ‘must have’ feature on their vehicles has continued to fall to new historical lows. Despite this, no new infotainment sources have risen to a sufficient level of popularity to take their place.

The IVX report was entitled ‘Usage of In Car CD Players Continues to Drop, but What Will Replace Them?’ and found that the appetite of consumers for portable music player connections and in car internet radio have both drifted following initial strong growth last year in Europe, the US and China.

Furthermore, interests in satellite radio in the US and digital radio in Europe have also declined slightly or remained at a steady level.

Derek Viita, senior analyst and author of the report, said that despite a decline in the use of AM/FM in car radios, it is still top of the list for interest and usage, driven mainly by the desire for up to date traffic information without the need for data connection required for most of the popular traffic apps.

The report also showed that the only source in Europe and the US that is continuing to show slow and steady growth is an in vehicle connection to apps, led by Apple CarPlay, Baidu CarLife and Android Auto.

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