Nine out of ten vehicle owners say the presence of radio in the dashboard is important to them, according to a new survey.

They also say the pandemic has made dashboard entertainment/information more important because listening to music helps ease anxiety from all the bad news and stress in the world.

That is especially true for Gen Z. But the ability to access local news and pandemic bulletins has gained in importance for many respondents to the national CARAVAN survey conducted by ENGINE Insights on behalf of audio, imaging and sensing technology company, DTS. The survey also highlights topics such as the importance of the personal vehicle, content preferences, and safety.

Radio still the anchor

Eighty percent of vehicle owner survey respondents want their in-vehicle dashboard entertainment personalized to their particular tastes and interests. That is especially important to young consumers, with 91% of Gen Z respondents and 89% of Millennials feeling that way about personalization.

“This study … reinforces that car owners are looking for a dashboard that offers infotainment content that is personalized, discoverable, and textually and visually-rich,” said Jeff Jury, general manager, Connected Car, for Xperi Holding Corp., in a news release. DTS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi.

But even with respondents’ desire for the latest technology, more than half of vehicle owners like having radio as the anchor for their media diet. Ninety-one percent of vehicle owners surveyed say the presence of radio in their dashboard is important. Seventy-two percent say it is indispensable or very important.

Radio is a great choice when you run out of things to listen to in your media library, according to 60% of respondents. Fifty-eight percent say that because sifting through the clutter of content choices is too difficult, they mainly listen to their pre-programmed radio stations.

Radio is indispensable or highly important to seven out of 10 vehicle owners overall, according to the survey. Nearly 80% of Millennials value radio in the dashboard more than their generational counterparts, Gen Z, Gen X and Boomers.

“We were particularly struck by some of the demographic data, for example, that Millennials value radio in the dashboard so highly, with 78% saying it is indispensable and that households with children are most likely to find their vehicle more important today [and to view it as a place of refuge],” said Eric Corliss, manager, ENGINE Insights.

Corliss went on to say, “Also, that these demos, along with Gen Z, are the most likely to place greater importance on dashboard entertainment/information today, versus pre-COVID.”

Role of pandemic

For 47% of all vehicle owners, their personal vehicle is more important than ever to them today versus pre-COVID, according to the survey. Sixty-two percent with children in the household report their vehicle is more important than ever, while only 39% of those with no children feel that way.

For more than one-third of respondents, their vehicle offers a place of refuge during these challenging times.

Only 6% say their vehicle is less important because they no longer commute.

Those saying their vehicle is more important now cite a discomfort with public transportation or ride-sharing.

Sixty-four percent of Gen Z, 61% of Millennials and 65% with children place greater importance on dashboard entertainment/information today versus pre-COVID.

Sixty-nine percent of Gen Z respondents and 68% of Millennials are the most likely of all generations to listen to different content in their vehicle than before COVID, and that is the case for only 33% of Baby Boomers.

Personalization important

Respondents said personalization prevents them from having to fiddle with controls while driving. It also prevents too much content clutter.

As mentioned earlier, personalization is most important to Gen Z respondents and Millennials, while being less important for Gen X and Baby Boomers.

But overall, respondents want cost-free, worry-free content. Thirty percent of respondents said free content is the feature most important to the in-vehicle dashboard entertainment experience. Twenty-eight percent said not having to worry about upgrades/connection is important, and 25% stressed the importance of being able to continue listening to a radio station digitally when the vehicle has gone out of broadcast range.

Four in five vehicle owners say no-cost listening choices are important.

They can relate to the following sentiment: Because such great broadcast radio and free discoverable content is available, it makes no sense to pay.

Another capability that is important to respondents: The ability to continue listening to a radio station digitally when the vehicle has gone out of broadcast range.

Also, Millennials and Gen Z like having content relevant to what they listen to “discovered” for them. That is not as much the case for the older generations. Millennials and Gen Z also like the ability to see rich visual/textual information about the artist and song they are listening to.

“This new survey reveals key trends driven by the pandemic, including the rise in the importance of both the personal vehicle and in-dash infotainment, as well as a change in the kind of content listened to in-vehicle,” Corliss said.