Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, non-transitory storage medium and vehicle control system

A vehicle control method comprising:

• receiving, by a computer, a remote signal containing a target temperature in a cabin and an expected traveling start time of a vehicle from a remote controller used by a user of the vehicle;
• performing, by the computer, preheating of the cabin in a second air-conditioning mode when a temperature in the cabin is predicted to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the second air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using an electric heat pump, the preheating being based on a remote operation;
• and
• performing, by the computer, the preheating of the cabin in a first air-conditioning mode when the temperature in the cabin is predicted not to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the first air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using exhaust heat generated when an internal combustion engine operates.

A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that are executable by a computer and that cause the computer to perform functions comprising:

• receiving a remote signal containing a target temperature in a cabin and an expected traveling start time of a vehicle from a remote controller used by a user of the vehicle;
• performing preheating of the cabin in a second air-conditioning mode when a temperature in the cabin is predicted to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the second air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using an electric heat pump, the preheating being based on a remote operation;
• and
• performing the preheating of the cabin in a first air-conditioning mode when the temperature in the cabin is predicted not to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the first air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using exhaust heat generated when an internal combustion engine operates.

A vehicle control system comprising:

• a remote controller to be used by a user of a vehicle, the remote controller being configured to, when a preheating request containing a target temperature in a cabin and an expected traveling start time of the vehicle is received, transmit a remote signal containing the target temperature and the expected traveling start time;
• and
• a control device configured to, when the control device receives the remote signal from the remote controller, perform preheating of the cabin based on the target temperature and the expected traveling start time, the control device including a controller configured to, when the remote signal is received:
• perform the preheating in a second air-conditioning mode when a temperature in the cabin is predicted to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the second air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using an electric heat pump;
• and
• perform the preheating in a first air-conditioning mode when the temperature in the cabin is predicted not to be increasable to the target temperature in the second air-conditioning mode before the expected traveling start time, the first air-conditioning mode being an air-conditioning mode in which the preheating is performed by using exhaust heat generated when an internal combustion engine operates.