Inside Track: Billion Dollar Car Speaker Companies

The Rise of Premium In-Car Entertainment Systems

There are over one-and-a-half billion cars in the world – including twenty million in Australia, 34 million in the UK and a quarter of a billion in Europe. That adds up to a lot of car radios and loudspeakers! No matter how inexpensive, most automobiles today have some form of in-car entertainment. Plenty of these head units are 'dual function' as the trade used to say, meaning that as well as playing music, they fill the double DIN-sized hole in the dashboard to stop drafts.

But what about modern original-equipment systems bearing the names of well-known high-end audio brands? These are proving increasingly lucrative for auto makers, as they're an easy way to upsell the car during the buying process. The field is getting surprisingly competitive, as the additional cost of a fancy premium-brand system can now be a significant part of the end ticket – Naim for Bentley, for example, in the new Bentayga, costs a cool £7,350 extra.

Yet domestic hi-fi and automotive audio speakers lead very different lives. The former can rely on sensible levels of humidity and a narrow range of temperatures, whereas the latter can experience extremes of heat and deep freezing in some climates. Think of it like extreme camping, with the added challenge of coping with grim conditions. Car speakers are effectively meant to live outdoors; for instance, water can flow through car doors when it rains, and the windows go up and down. This means expertise in automotive loudspeakers is crucial, as you can't just put hi-fi speakers in car doors instead of cabinets.

So what happens when a well-known domestic hi-fi brand such as KEF wants to supply Lotus Cars, for example? The answer is that they have to get into bed with specialist manufacturers who can make special speakers for car use, adapting their clever Uni-Q coaxial driver and Uni-Core dual-coned small subwoofer technology for a 'ruggedised' environment. In the case of KEF, it uses a company called ASK as its automotive partner. The latter makes the transducers to KEF's performance specifications, while ensuring that they are fit for car use, with the correct plug mouldings for wiring.

That means power handling as well as impedance, as you can offer as low as 2 ohms to a well-made car amplifier to make lots of watts. There's no need to adhere to 'standards' as it's always your own specification amplifier.

ASK calls itself "a JVCKenwood company" and is a serious outfit that made $561 million in car kit in 2024 – and $15 million in car kit just for the UK. It has made speakers for Audi, Mercedes and Porsche, as well as Fiat Chrysler and others. But Harman International Industries is stupendous compared to this. Part of the Samsung mega-corp, the car brands that it works for are legion. How about $45 billion and $7 billion, respectively, just for car audio in 2024?

Harman’s Iconic Audio Brands in the Automotive Industry

Harman says that its portfolio includes iconic brands such as Harman Kardon, JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson, Bowers & Wilkins, Bang & Olufsen, Infinity, Lexicon and Revel, each offering distinct acoustic signatures and design philosophies. More than fifty million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and connected car systems. AKG delivers pure, powerful sound to Cadillac. Harman Kardon can be experienced in Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Hyundai, Kia, Maserati, Mini, RAM, Subaru, Volvo and VW models. JBL provides sound for Toyota.

Mark Levinson provides audio to Lexus. Revel delivers audio to Lincoln. Bang & Olufsen features in Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi and Genesis models. And Bowers & Wilkins can be experienced in Aston Martin, BMW, McLaren, Polestar and Volvo cars." The list and breadth of variety is epic, and the sheer scale is enormous.

There are outfits other than Harman's specialist R&D centre in Germany that develop cheaper speakers. I know from talking to installers who replace the stuff that 'premium audio' systems in some cars use speaker drive units worth a dollar each. The things that these remaining aftermarket car audio specialists have to say about some 'name brand' systems are rude, to put it politely. Many folk never get to learn about proper high-quality car speakers, as their owners are happy with what they've ordered from the manufacturer.

So while you might be disappointed to discover that many hi-fi branded car speakers are made by outsourced specialist manufacturers, you do still generally get what you pay for. There are many car speaker makers that you'll likely have never heard of, which make multi-millions-worth for many makes of cars, for better or for worse. So always use your own ears to assess any premium car audio option, and see if you think it's good value for money.

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