"Programmed battery charging" in this case means that the alternator's field is disabled by the car's computer when the battery is charged, reducing engine load. The field is powered up when engine braking, or when the battery's voltage drops.
This is becoming common (Škoda, BMW, and many more), not only in "green" models.
It's pretty much an alternator kill switch, which hypermilers/ecomodders have been using for years, only automated so the driver doesn't worry about it.
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e·co·mod·ding: the art of turning vehicles into what they should be
What matters is where you're going, not how fast.
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[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
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