Battery electric vehicle and control method thereof

A battery electric vehicle comprising:

• an electric motor as a drive source;
• a controller configured to control a torque output by the electric motor;
• a first indicator configured to output a continuous indication according to an operation amount to the controller;
• and
• a second indicator that is operable simultaneously with the first indicator and configured to output a continuous indication according to an operation amount to the controller, wherein:
• the controller is configured to, in a state where the second indicator is not being operated, make the electric motor output a basic torque according to an operation amount of the first indicator and a vehicle speed;
• the controller is configured to, when an operation amount of the second indicator is equal to or larger than a first operation amount, make the electric motor output a predetermined minimum torque;
• the controller is configured to, when an operation amount of the second indicator is smaller than the first operation amount, increase the torque from the minimum torque to the basic torque according to a decrease in the operation amount of the second indicator;
• the controller is configured to switch a change characteristic of the torque between a high-speed characteristic that is selected when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed and a low-speed characteristic that is selected when the vehicle speed is lower than the predetermined speed, the change characteristic of the torque being the change characteristic relative to an operation amount of the second indicator when the operation amount of the second indicator is reduced to be smaller than the first operation amount;
• the high-speed characteristic is a characteristic such that, while the torque increases from the minimum torque to the basic torque, an interval appears where a change in the torque in response to a change in an operation amount of the second indicator becomes convex upward;
• and
• the low-speed characteristic is a characteristic such that a change in the torque while the torque increases from the minimum torque to the basic torque becomes convex downward in response to a change in an operation amount of the second indicator or the change is linear compared with that in the high-speed characteristic.