Eco-friendly vehicle and method of controlling the same

An eco-friendly vehicle comprising:

• a motor;
• a battery configured to store power for driving the motor;
• a battery cooler configured to cool the battery;
• and
• a controller configured to measure a temperature of the battery during towing driving while a vehicle to be towed is connected, apply the measured battery temperature to a predetermined function to obtain a trend of battery temperature change, predict a point in time when the temperature of the battery exceeds a predetermined reference temperature based on the trend of battery temperature change, and start cooling the battery before reaching the predicted point in time.

A method of controlling an eco-friendly vehicle comprising:

• measuring, by a controller, a temperature of a battery during towing driving while a vehicle to be towed is connected;
• applying, by the controller, the measured battery temperature to a predetermined function to obtain a trend of battery temperature change;
• predicting, by the controller, a point in time when the temperature of the battery exceeds a predetermined reference temperature based on the trend of battery temperature change;
• immediately starting, by the controller, cooling of the battery when the temperature of the battery has exceeded the predetermined reference temperature;
• and
• waiting, by the controller, before reaching the predicted point in time when the temperature of the battery has not yet exceeded the predetermined reference temperature, and then starting cooling the battery before reaching the predicted point in time.