It was an eventful 2025 in car audio.
VOXX was sold to Gentex, Incriminator was sold to Systematics Holdings, which owns brands including Sundown, and Exlie Audio was purchased by Orca Design & Mfg. HARMAN purchased Masimo with brands including B&W [Bowers & Wilkins], Denon and Marantz.
Leadership changed hands at Memphis Car Audio and Maxxsonics.
To name a very few of the product highlights in car audio this past year, JVC and Kenwood joined iDatalink in launching a deeply integrated line of vehicle specific radios. A new line of car audio products was announced from new company Modus. Metra announced its entry into the car radio market under the Proscenium brand. We saw the first aftermarket car audio speakers under Harman Kardon. New screen-only replacements were offered by ZZ2 and RDVFL.
It was a challenging year for many due to price increases, tariffs, and economic uncertainty. However, some dealers and suppliers reported strong increases. Many dealers came to rely on larger builds for the bulk of their profits, rather than subwoofer and amp or head unit sales.
Some of our stories went viral, attracting as many as 63,000 clicks, as in the case of our top story for 2025 shown below.
Allow us to also take this time to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2026!
Top Ten Stories in CEoutlook (by clicks)
Update on 2-Inch Mini Subwoofers
KENWOOD New Deck, A First for Car Audio
Cerwin Ships Unusual Powered Subs
Metra Ships All-in-One Vehicle Specific Audio Kits
Toyota Recall Due to Infotainment Screen
Mazda Settlement on Infotainment Lawsuit
Garmin Responds to JL Audio Name Change
Pioneer USA Statement on Corporate Sale
KENWOOD, JVC Ship New Direct Replacement Radios