The Drive contacted GM, Ford and Stellantis — whose predecessor included AM radio on the Fiat 500e — and found that the difference likely has more to do with the fact that AM radio has all but disappeared Europe. In the U.S., meanwhile, AM radio remains the only terrestrial listening option on some rural highways because the signal travels further than that of FM stations with higher audio quality.
In a 2021 survey of U.S. drivers, 89 percent said radio should be standard equipment, compared with 84 percent who said USB ports should be.
Tesla included AM radio on the Model S sedan before phasing it out in 2018. BMW still offers AM radio on its hybrids, but it left the technology off EVs starting with its first fully battery-powered nameplates, the i3 and i8.