Charge Your Car Day is on 5^th October and encourages drivers to check, charge and protect their vehicle’s 12V battery. With modern cars relying on up to 150 electrically powered features that consume energy, regular battery care and access to a booster can help motorists stay ready for all the journeys that matter.

Modern cars demand more from the 12V battery

Your car may be parked, but its battery is rarely idle. Security systems, keyless entry, clocks, control units and connected features can continue to use energy in the background. Once running, the 12V battery also supports equipment ranging from lighting and infotainment to heated seats, sensors, a stop-start engine and driver-assistance systems.

According to battery manufacturer VARTA, a modern car can have up to 150 electrical consumers. That makes the 12V battery one of the hardest-working components in the vehicle – and one of the easiest to overlook.

This is why CTEK created Charge Your Car Day, held each year on 5^th October. It is an annual reminder to give the battery some attention before low charge becomes a missed meeting, a delayed school run or a journey that never starts.

To go, Stay Ready

To mark Charge Your Car Day in 2026, CTEK is encouraging motorists everywhere to Stay Ready by making battery care part of their regular vehicle maintenance routine, with a few simple habits making a real difference.

Regular charging helps keep your battery healthy, while carrying a booster means you're prepared if the unexpected happens. Together, that's what it means to Stay Ready.

CTEK’s NXT 5 battery charger is a futureproofed choice as it works on both lead acid and lithium-ion batteries. It is simple to use but packs advanced features into its compact unit which is built to last.

And to have booster power with you for every journey, CTEK’s RB 3000 delivers reliable power and advanced safety features in a user-friendly design. It can provide up to 30 jump starts on a single charge.

The Stay Ready snapshot

Modern vehicles are becoming more power hungry. Are their drivers keeping up?

The latest industry numbers paint a clear picture:

• 150 – modern vehicles can contain up to 150 drains on the 12V battery
• 45.4% – of roadside callouts attended by ADAC in Germany during 2025 were caused by the starter battery
• 7 million – battery-related roadside assistance calls attended in 2024 by AAA across the USA
• 72% – of motorists surveyed by CTEK rarely or never check their vehicle battery
• 1 in 5 – motorists admit they don't know how to charge a vehicle battery.

The message is clear: vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated, yet battery care is still too often overlooked.

Charge, boost, Stay Ready.

The Stay Ready approach has three simple parts:

• Charge: Regularly use a compatible smart charger to restore and maintain the battery’s state of charge
• Boost: Keep a suitable and charged battery booster available for the unexpected moment when there is not enough power to start
• Stay Ready: Check the battery as the seasons change, before important journeys and during periods when the vehicle will be used less.

If you regularly charge, are prepared to boost and check your battery you will Stay Ready – to Power Every Moment.

Charge. Boost. Stay Ready. Power Every Moment.