The end of physical media that Sony plans for 2028 has already happened in cars

Sony’s announcement about the end of physical media production for PlayStation from 2028 brought a heated discussion on the subject. In the world of cars, this change occurred earlier: we have not had new cars with CD-players for sale in Brazil since the beginning of 2026.

The last car offered with this equipment was the Subaru Forester. It is still available on the brand’s website, but, according to Auto Esporte magazine, the brand has already closed its last dealerships in the country.

SEE ALSO:

• How Honda Fit put the brand on the global compact scene
• Understand why manufacturers are abandoning AM radio
• 5 workarounds from the past to listen to music in the car

Until 2025, we also had the Lexus ES300h equipped with a CD-player as part of the Mark Levinson sound system in Brazil. The luxury brand has retired the physical media player in recent years as the line has received facelifts and new generations.

On a global level, the only new car that can be bought with a factory CD-player is the Subaru WRX, which has the reader installed in the center console storage compartment. The Japanese brand has a tradition of offering quality sound in its cars and has audiophile fans, but it is abandoning physical media with each update to its range.

CD-player also disappeared in the aftermarket

The popularity of streaming services and the mirroring of the smartphone with multimedia centers decreed the end of the CD-player. Removing the physical media player allows you to reduce the costs, complexity, and size of modern devices.

In the Brazilian accessory market there are no more multimedia centers or radios in 1 DIN format with CD-player. The closest to this are the memory card or USB slots, to plug in a pen-drive.

The only ways to have a new physical media player in Brazil is to buy an original replacement radio for older models at dealerships. Or by importing some through e-commerce sites.