Vehicles with DAB+
More than 4.4 million new vehicles have been sold in Australia with DAB+ digital radio factory fitted, since the adoption of DAB+ in vehicles in Australia in 2011.
More than 821,000* new vehicles were sold with DAB+ factory fitted in the 12 months to 31 December 2021. This figure is expected to grow as vehicle manufacturers extend support across their range. 78% of new vehicles sold in Australia during the past 12 months had DAB+ digital radio factory fitted as a standard or optional feature.
When purchasing your next new vehicle, be sure to ask the dealer whether it comes with DAB+ digital radio. The 54 automotive brands in Australia offering DAB+ digital radio as standard or option include:
DAB+ digital radio is now available as standard in popular vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Nissan X-Trail.
As broadcast radio continues to be the most robust platform, simultaneously used by millions of drivers every day, Commercial Radio & Audio works closely with vehicle manufacturers in Australia and overseas and encourages their continued support for AM/FM as well as DAB+ digital radio in vehicle in-car infotainment systems.
With 29%^ of all radio listening in car, and rapid adoption of DAB+ by vehicle manufacturers it has now become a matter of public safety that tunnel operators support DAB+ digital radio.
DAB+ digital radio in car reception maps are available to download. These show the current coverage of DAB+ and provide a guide as to where your DAB+ digital radio is expected to receive good signal. Terrain may provide some small black spots within these coverage areas, but in general DAB+ reception should be good. The red line indicates the licence area where coverage is intended. Plans to infill black spots in coverage are underway.
Currently analogue (AM/FM) signals are re-broadcast into tunnels. This is the responsibility of the tunnel operators. There is currently no in-tunnel rebroadcasting of the DAB+ signal but this can be revisited as more DAB+ enabled radios are available in cars.
* Glass’s Automotive Business Intelligence, December 2021
^ GfK Radio Ratings, SMBAP S1-8 & Canberra S1-3 2021, Total Radio, % Share of Listening based on Average Audience, Mon-Sun 12mn-12mn, All People 10+