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EV drivers give podcasts twice the in-car audio share, Edison Research finds
Edison Research at SSRS published its EV effect on in-car audio study on October 28, 2026, using Q3 2026 Share of Ear data. Drivers and riders in electric vehicles spend 42 percent of in-car audio time with AM and FM radio, and their in-car time share for podcasts runs at twice the rate of the total United States population aged 13 and up.
By SSRS · Published · Announcement date
Edison Research at SSRS published a study on October 28, 2026 titled The EV Effect on In-Car Audio, drawn from its Q3 2026 Share of Ear research. Among people who drive or ride in an electric vehicle, AM and FM radio takes 42 percent of in-car audio time, against 53 percent for the total United States population aged 13 and up. Streaming music takes 22 percent for the EV group against 17 percent overall, and SiriusXM takes 20 percent against 16 percent. The study reports that the EV audience share of in-car time spent with podcasts is twice the share for the total population. Podcast News Daily put the podcast figures at 12 percent for EV drivers and riders against 6 percent overall.
Radio Ink reported the study on October 29, 2026 and added that the EV figures rest on 160 survey respondents, that the car accounts for over a quarter of all daily audio time, and that in-car listening averages 1 hour and 4 minutes a day. The small EV sample is a reason to read the gap as a signal rather than a settled rate.
WHY IT MATTERS: The car is the one listening setting where podcasts still trail radio by a wide margin. If EV drivers shift time toward streaming and podcasts at twice the population rate, the dashboard is where podcast listening grows next, and shows that win in-car listening win the quarter of daily audio time that happens on the road. Podcasters pitching automotive and EV advertisers now have current Share of Ear numbers to point at.
Edison Research published the study on October 28, 2026.
Announcement date: October 28, 2026
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