Vehicle control apparatus and method of controlling vehicle-control force

A method of controlling a vehicle-control force of a vehicle that is switchable between traveling under normal traveling control in which the vehicle-control force is controlled on a basis of an acceleration operation or a deceleration operation by a driver and traveling under cruise control in which the vehicle-control force is automatically controlled regardless of the acceleration operation and the deceleration operation by the driver, the method comprising:

• determining a target vehicle-control force of the normal traveling control on a basis of an accelerator position, and making, upon the determining the target vehicle-control force of the normal traveling control, a switch between a normal characteristic in which a target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position takes a value on a driving force side over an accelerator position range and a one-pedal characteristic in which the target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position changes from a value on a braking force side to a value on the driving force side as the accelerator position increases;
• determining a target vehicle-control force of the cruise control;
• executing, when the accelerator position is greater than a reference accelerator position corresponding to the target vehicle-control force of the cruise control in the cruise control, override in which a target vehicle-control force of the override is determined on a basis of an accelerator position characteristic of the vehicle;
• and
• setting, in a case where the target vehicle-control force of the normal traveling control is determined using the one-pedal characteristic, the accelerator position characteristic for the override to a middle characteristic, the target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position being greater in the middle characteristic than in the one-pedal characteristic and less in the middle characteristic than in the normal characteristic over the accelerator position range.

A vehicle control apparatus configured to control a vehicle-control force of a vehicle that is switchable between traveling under normal traveling control in which the vehicle-control force is controlled on a basis of an acceleration operation or a deceleration operation by a driver and traveling under cruise control in which the vehicle-control force is automatically controlled regardless of the acceleration operation and the deceleration operation by the driver, the apparatus comprising

• circuitry configured to
• switch a control mode of the normal traveling control between a normal mode using a normal characteristic in which a target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position takes a value on a driving force side over an accelerator position range and a one-pedal mode using a one-pedal characteristic in which the target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position changes from a value on a braking force side to a value on the driving force side as the accelerator position increases,
• execute, when the accelerator position is greater than a reference accelerator position corresponding to a target vehicle-control force of the cruise control in the cruise control, override in which a target vehicle-control force of the override is determined on as basis an accelerator position characteristic of the vehicle, and
• determine, in a case where the one-pedal mode is set as the control mode of the normal traveling control, the target traveling-control force of the override using a middle characteristic as the accelerator position characteristic for the override, the target vehicle-control force for each accelerator position being greater in the middle characteristic than in the one-pedal characteristic and less in the middle characteristic than in the normal characteristic over the accelerator position range.