Vehicle control device

A vehicle control device for controlling a hybrid vehicle,

• the hybrid vehicle including:
• an internal combustion engine that includes an EGR device configured to perform exhaust gas recirculation that causes a part of exhaust gas discharged to an exhaust gas passage to recirculate into a cylinder;
• an electric drive device that includes one or more rotating electrical machines and is configured to drive the hybrid vehicle and perform an engine-based power generation being electric power generation using power of the internal combustion engine;
• a power storage device configured to be chargeable and dischargeable by transmitting and receiving electric power to and from the electric drive device;
• and
• a travel route acquisition device configured to acquire a travel route information from a departure point to a destination of the hybrid vehicle,
• the hybrid vehicle having drive modes that include:
• an EV drive mode in which the electric drive device is driven by the electric power of the power storage device to drive the hybrid vehicle without using a driving force of the internal combustion engine;
• and
• an HV drive mode in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by a driving force of at least one of the electric drive device and the internal combustion engine while performing the engine-based power generation,
• the vehicle control device comprising a processor configured to:
• where the hybrid vehicle is started under a cold condition in which temperature of the internal combustion engine is lower than a temperature threshold value that allows a start of the exhaust gas recirculation, calculate, based on the travel route information, an average vehicle driving power in a vehicle running section under a warm condition after the temperature of the internal combustion engine reaches the temperature threshold value after the start of the hybrid vehicle;
• and
• limit an amount of power generated by the engine-based power generation in the cold condition so as to be smaller when the calculated average vehicle driving power is high than when the calculated average vehicle driving power is low, and, during the HV drive mode after a transition to the warm condition, execute the engine-based power generation accompanied by the exhaust gas recirculation with an EGR ratio that increases engine thermal efficiency.