Vehicle control apparatus and method

A control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

• an information acquisition device configured to acquire vehicle-surroundings information which is information on a surroundings situation of the vehicle;
• and
• a controller configured to perform driving support control including at least speed control for controlling a speed of the vehicle when a driving support operation state is an on state, the controller being further configured to, in a case where the driving support operation state is the on state and a driving operation switching request for changing the driving support operation state from the on state to an off state is issued, change the driving support operation state from the on state to the off state at a driving operation switching time point at which a predetermined time has elapsed from a request time point at which the driving operation switching request is issued,
• wherein the controller is further configured to, in the case where the driving support operation state is the on state and the driving operation switching request is issued,
• calculate a target speed at the driving operation switching time point in accordance with a situation in front of the vehicle determined based on the vehicle-surroundings information acquired at the request time point,
• perform deceleration control in place of the speed control, the deceleration control being control such that the speed of the vehicle matches the target speed at the driving operation switching time point, and
• terminate the deceleration control at the driving operation switching time point.