Control method for hybrid vehicle and control apparatus for hybrid vehicle

A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle comprising an electric motor that drives the vehicle to travel, a generator that supplies power to the electric motor, an engine that drives the generator, and a battery that supplies power to the electric motor, the control apparatus comprising:

• a detector configured to detect required deceleration for the electric motor;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• when bringing the electric motor into a regenerative state, operate the generator to drive the engine in a state in which fuel supply to the engine is cut, thereby executing, in accordance with the required deceleration, motoring control for consuming output power of the electric motor;
• and
• when the required deceleration decreases and driving of the engine by the generator is requested upon execution of the motoring control, restricting a decrease rate of a rotational speed of the engine to a value less than or equal to a predetermined value from a time point at which an accelerator pedal depression amount changes.