Citroen C5 Aircross will remind drivers to plug in the vehicle in this country

Citroen has rolled out an over-the-air (OTA) update for its C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid model in the UK that will now enable the the car to remind its owners to plug it in when out of charge, Insideevs reported. The petrol-electric SUV will notify drivers if they fail to plug the vehicle in regularly as the carmaker intends to help them 'optimise the efficiency' of the powertrain.

The OTA update will be sent to the Citroen models from the carmaker's headquarters, meaning that drivers will not have to take their vehicles to a dealer. The ‘plug-in reminders’ after the update will be displayed on the touchscreen infotainment system inside the car’s cabin.

These message reminders on the vehicle screen will show up after five days have passed between charges or when 10 journeys have been made without charging the vehicle. In the first instance, the car will issue only one reminder per day. However, when 30 days will have passed, there will be two notifications per day.

This update has only been rolled out for the Citroen C5 Aircross Hybrid, which comes with a plug-in hybrid powertrain combining an electric motor with a 178 bhp petrol engine. With the new update, the carmaker hopes that customers will optimise the usage efficiency of their plug-in hybrid models. This will further reduce the impact of carbon emissions on the environment.

The new update will help customers make the most of the C5 Aircross hybrid's 34-mile official electric range. The company data shows that 55 per cent of journeys that are shorter than 25 miles are made on zero-emission power while 52 percent of customers charge their car once or twice every 100 km. However, the French company claims an increase in charging frequency would ultimately increase proportion of electric-only journeys while reducing fuel consumption.