Vehicle control device and control method for vehicle

A control method for a vehicle including an external sensor and an electronic control unit, the control method comprising:

• controlling, by the electronic control unit, a host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along a target travel trajectory;
• detecting, by the electronic control unit, an adjacent preceding vehicle that is traveling in a first adjacent lane which is a lane adjacent to a lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, based on detected information provided by the external sensor;
• acquiring, by the electronic control unit, environmental information on at least one of a road side and a second adjacent lane, which is another lane, different from the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the first adjacent lane, the second adjacent lane being disposed on an opposite side of the first adjacent lane than the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling in a width direction, and being further away from the host vehicle than the first adjacent lane;
• and
• generating, by the electronic control unit, the target travel trajectory of the host vehicle so as to move the host vehicle away from the adjacent preceding vehicle in the width direction, within the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, based on the environmental information,
• wherein the environmental information includes information on whether there is another preceding vehicle in the second adjacent lane, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to determine whether the second adjacent lane has the another preceding vehicle therein,
• wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to, upon a determination that the another preceding vehicle is in the second adjacent lane, generate the target travel trajectory of the host vehicle such that the target travel trajectory of the host vehicle is disposed a first distance away from the adjacent preceding vehicle in the width direction, and upon a determination that the second adjacent lane does not have the another preceding vehicle therein, generate the target travel trajectory of the host vehicle such that the target travel trajectory of the host vehicle is disposed a second distance away from the adjacent preceding vehicle in the width direction, the first distance being greater than the second distance.