The invention relates to a control system for a hybrid electric vehicle (100), the vehicle having a powertrain (135) comprising at least one electric propulsion motor (123) and at least one engine (121), the control system being operable to control the vehicle to operate in an electric vehicle (EV) mode in which the at least one engine remains switched off and the at least one electric propulsion motor is configured to deliver drive torque and a boost mode in which the at least one engine is switched on to provide additional power to drive the vehicle. When the vehicle is operating in EV mode the system is further operable to determine whether a boost location exists ahead of the vehicle being a location at which a gradient of a driving surface is sufficiently high to require selection of the boost mode, the control system being operable automatically to command starting of the at least one engine before the boost location is reached.

The invention relates to a control system for a hybrid electric vehicle (100), the vehicle having a powertrain (135) comprising at least one electric propulsion motor (123) and at least one engine (121), the control system being operable to control the vehicle to operate in an electric vehicle (EV) mode in which the at least one engine remains switched off and the at least one electric propulsion motor is configured to deliver drive torque and a boost mode in which the at least one engine is switched on to provide additional power to drive the vehicle. When the vehicle is operating in EV mode the system is further operable to determine whether a boost location exists ahead of the vehicle being a location at which a gradient of a driving surface is sufficiently high to require selection of the boost mode, the control system being operable automatically to command starting of the at least one engine before the boost location is reached.

A system and method for providing torque-assist to a rotary shaft of an internal combustion engine control an electric machine in response to operation of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve to assist the rotation of the rotary shaft. The system and method facilitate periodic operation of the EGR valve to purge condensation without objectionable torque reduction when the engine is operating near full load.

Systems and methods are provided for controlling a hybrid powertrain of a hybrid vehicle, and may include: determining a value of a drive request for a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle; determining electrical loading on batteries of the hybrid vehicle; adjusting operation of an accessory of the hybrid vehicle to reduce the electrical load of that accessory on the batteries of the hybrid vehicle when the drive request value is above a determined drive request threshold amount and the electrical loading on batteries of the hybrid vehicle is above a power loading threshold; and directing at least some of the power saved by adjusting operation of the accessory from the batteries of the hybrid vehicle to a drive motor of the hybrid vehicle to provide motive force for the vehicle.

A drive force control system for a vehicle having a motor and a battery that allows a driver to sense a satisfactory acceleration even if an output torque of a motor is restricted. The drive force control system comprises a controller that calculates an upper limit acceleration of the vehicle based on an upper limit power to be supplied from the battery to the motor. The controller sets a reference jerk as the required jerk when the upper limit acceleration is equal to or greater than the target acceleration, and sets a corrected jerk that is greater than the reference jerk as the required jerk when the upper limit acceleration is less than the target acceleration.

In a method for operating a powertrain of a vehicle, a first electric motor can provide a first drive torque, a second electric motor can provide a second drive torque and an internal combustion engine can provide a third drive torque to an output. The internal combustion engine and the first electric motor can be connected to the output via a separating clutch. In the event of a specific acceleration requirement, the separating clutch is closed regardless of a state of the internal combustion engine, and the first electric motor delivers the first drive torque and the second electric motor delivers the second drive torque together to the output.

In a method for operating a powertrain of a vehicle, a first electric motor can provide a first drive torque, a second electric motor can provide a second drive torque and an internal combustion engine can provide a third drive torque to an output. The internal combustion engine and the first electric motor can be connected to the output via a separating clutch. In the event of a specific acceleration requirement, the separating clutch is closed regardless of a state of the internal combustion engine, and the first electric motor delivers the first drive torque and the second electric motor delivers the second drive torque together to the output.

A control method for controlling gear-shifting and lock-up of an engine clutch in a hybrid vehicle includes: detecting a kickdown shift by a driver while the hybrid vehicle is driving in an electric vehicle mode; starting gear-shifting when the kickdown shift is detected; controlling a difference between an engine speed and a motor speed to be equal to or less than a first reference value; synchronizing the engine speed and the motor speed through an engine speed control; performing torque blending by locking up the engine clutch when the synchronization is completed; and ending the gear-shifting when a target required torque is reached through the torque blending.

A powertrain system may determine a power distribution for one or more power sources of a vehicle. The powertrain system may be coupled to a perception system that may provide perception data indicating a scenario, situation, or environment that has been encountered by the vehicle. The powertrain system may include a rule based system and/or a machine learning model that may generate the power distribution based on one or more of the perception data and a power request.

A powertrain system may determine a power distribution for one or more power sources of a vehicle. The powertrain system may be coupled to a perception system that may provide perception data indicating a scenario, situation, or environment that has been encountered by the vehicle. The powertrain system may include a rule based system and/or a machine learning model that may generate the power distribution based on one or more of the perception data and a power request.