A vehicle battery management system and method includes a battery, a battery sensor for measuring a condition of the battery and an electronic control unit that receives a signal from the battery sensor corresponding to the condition of the battery. The electronic control unit selectively connects and disconnects that the battery from each of: at least one accessory load and at least one other load. The at least one other load is disconnected from the battery when the vehicle is in a shipping mode and the at least one accessory load is connected to the battery when the vehicle is in an accessory ON mode. The electronic control unit disconnects the at least one accessory load from the battery when the vehicle is in the accessory ON mode and in the shipping mode when the signal indicates that the condition of the battery is below a predetermined threshold.