Hybrid vehicle, method for controlling speed change thereof, and recording medium

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle, a method for controlling a gear shift thereof, and a recording medium. A hybrid vehicle and a method for calculating a driving load thereof are disclosed to determine a more efficient gear shift reference in consideration of a driving mode. The method for controlling a gear shift of a hybrid vehicle includes: predicting a required power for a forward driving path; determining a representative driving mode based on a mode switching power and the predicted required power, the mode switching power serving as a reference for switching between a first driving mode using only an electric motor and a second driving mode using at least an engine; and applying any one of a first gear shift diagram corresponding to the first driving mode and a second gear shift diagram corresponding to the second driving mode based on the determined representative driving mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hybrid vehicle and a method of calculating a driving load thereof, thereby determining a more efficient speed shift reference in consideration of a driving pattern. Background Art

[0002] A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a vehicle that uses two power sources, typically an engine and an electric motor. Compared to vehicles with only an internal combustion engine, HEVs have excellent fuel efficiency and engine performance, and are also conducive to reducing emissions, and therefore have been actively developed recently.

[0003] Such hybrid vehicles travel in two modes depending on the powertrain used to drive the vehicle. One of these modes is electric vehicle (EV) mode, in which the vehicle travels using only the electric motor, while the other is hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode, which operates both the electric motor and the engine. Hybrid vehicles switch between the two modes depending on driving conditions.

[0004] In addition to the aforementioned classification of driving modes based on powertrain, the driving modes are further categorized into Charge Depletion (CD) mode and Charge Sustaining (CS) mode based on changes in the battery's State of Charge (SoC). Generally, in CD mode, the vehicle is driven by using the battery's power to drive the electric motor without using the engine's power, while in CS mode, the engine's power is used to prevent the battery's SoC from further decreasing.

[0005] In the case of a normal plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the vehicle runs in CD mode regardless of the driving load, whether the battery is chargeable, the distance to the destination, etc. Then due to the depletion of the SoC, it switches to CS mode, which will refer to Figure 1 Provide a description.

[0006] Figure 1 An example of a mode switching form of a general plug-in hybrid vehicle is shown.

[0007] exist Figure 1 , the horizontal axis is typically distance, the vertical axis of the upper graph is battery state of charge (SoC), and the vertical axis of the lower graph is driving mode.

[0008] Reference Figure 1When the SoC at startup is higher than the CD / CS reference SoC, the CD / CS reference SoC serves as a reference for switching between CD and CS modes, and the driving mode can be CD mode. While maintaining CD mode, control can be performed to continuously reduce the SoC. In CD mode, the SoC is primarily consumed in EV mode, and therefore, the shift strategy for the electric motor assumes that the motor is in EV mode, i.e., a shift map optimized for EV mode, can generally be used.

[0009] When the SoC during driving drops below the CD / CS reference SoC, a transition from CD mode to CS mode occurs, and in CS mode, powertrain control is performed to maintain a preset central SoC (i.e., CS center SOC). Therefore, in CS mode, the engine drive frequency is adjusted to maintain the SoC, and thus, the shift strategy for the engine, assuming HEV mode or system efficiency, is implemented, using a shift map optimized for HEVs.

[0010] However, the above-mentioned speed change strategy is effective in most cases, but in the case of generating a required power greater than the motor output in CD mode (for example, driving on a high-grade uphill road), switching to HEV mode frequently occurs, and in the case of maintaining a low driving load in CS mode (for example, in a congested urban area), driving in EV mode is maintained, and therefore, the general correspondence between CS / CD mode and EV / HEV is not satisfied. In this case, due to the mismatch between the actual driving source and the speed change strategy corresponding to the current mode, fuel efficiency and efficiency are adversely affected, and, depending on the powertrain configuration, during the switching process between EV / HEV, the fuel consumption when the engine is driven does not contribute to the driving force, that is, non-driving fuel consumption occurs, which will be referred to Figure 2 Provide a description.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a diagram for explaining non-driving fuel consumption due to gear shifting in a typical parallel hybrid vehicle.

[0012] exist Figure 2 , it is assumed that a speed change is determined during HEV mode switching in a parallel hybrid vehicle in which an engine clutch is installed between the engine and the engine clutch.

[0013] Reference Figure 2When engine drive is determined during EV mode driving, control is executed to enable the engine speed (EngSpeed) to follow the motor speed (MotSpeed) to engage the engine clutch. However, if a speed change occurs before the engine clutch engages, the engine clutch engagement is delayed, and the speed change is performed prematurely. As a result, the engine clutch may engage after the speed change is terminated. Consequently, fuel is consumed to follow the target engagement speed until the speed change is completed, but this fuel consumption does not contribute to driving force, resulting in non-driving fuel consumption.

[0014] Therefore, when applying a shift map based on the CD / CS mode, a shift map that is not optimized for the actual drive source may be applied. This incorrect application of the shift map can lead to frequent shifting, and when shifting frequently between EV / HEV modes, non-driving fuel consumption increases. Summary of the Invention

[0015] Therefore, the present disclosure is directed to a hybrid vehicle and a method of calculating a driving load thereof to select a more efficient shifting strategy.

[0016] Specifically, the present disclosure provides a hybrid vehicle and a method of calculating a driving load thereof, so that a shift strategy suitable for an actual driving source can be selected even when a driving mode is determined based on a battery state.

[0017] The technical problems solved by the embodiments are not limited to the above technical problems, and other technical problems not described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

[0018] To achieve these objects and other advantages, and in accordance with the purposes of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method for controlling speed changes in a hybrid vehicle includes predicting a required power for a forward driving path; determining a representative driving mode based on a mode switching power and the predicted required power, the mode switching power serving as a reference for switching between a first driving mode using only an electric motor and a second driving mode using at least an engine; and applying either a first speed change diagram corresponding to the first driving mode and a second speed change diagram corresponding to the second driving mode based on the determined representative driving mode.

[0019] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a hybrid vehicle includes a hybrid controller configured to predict a required power for a forward driving path; determine a representative driving mode based on a mode switching power and the predicted required power, the mode switching power serving as a reference for switching between a first driving mode using only an electric motor and a second driving mode using at least an engine; and determine whether to apply any one of a first speed shift diagram corresponding to the first driving mode and a second speed shift diagram corresponding to the second driving mode based on the determined representative driving mode; and a transmission controller configured to apply the determined speed shift diagram to be applied by the hybrid controller. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 An example of a mode switching form of a common plug-in hybrid vehicle in the prior art is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a diagram for explaining non-driving fuel consumption due to speed changes in a typical parallel hybrid vehicle of the prior art;

[0023] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a powertrain structure of a parallel hybrid vehicle applicable to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system of a hybrid vehicle to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a diagram for explaining the concept of speed change control according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6A 、 Figure 6B and Figure 6C is a diagram illustrating a method of determining a pattern prediction index according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 7 is a diagram of an example of a shift map determination process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0028] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a form of executing startup control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement them with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to these embodiments. In order to clearly describe the present disclosure, parts not related to the description are omitted in the drawings, and the same reference numerals in the specification represent the same elements.

[0030] In addition, when a part "includes" a component, it means that the part may further include another component rather than excluding another component, unless there is no different disclosure. Throughout the drawings and the specification, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same parts.

[0031] Prior to describing a hybrid vehicle and a method of controlling a gear shift thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a configuration and a control system of the hybrid vehicle applicable to the embodiment will be described.

[0032] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a powertrain structure of a parallel hybrid vehicle applicable to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 3 A powertrain of a hybrid vehicle employing a parallel hybrid system including a drive motor 140 and an engine clutch 130 installed between an internal combustion engine (ICE) 110 and a transmission 150 is shown.

[0034] In such a vehicle, generally, when the driver presses the accelerator after starting the vehicle, the motor 140 is driven by the power of the battery while the engine clutch 130 is opened, and the power is transmitted through the transmission 150 and the final drive (FD) 160 to move the wheels (i.e., EV mode). As the vehicle gradually accelerates, high driving force is further required, and in this case, the starter generator motor 120 may be operated to drive the engine 110.

[0035] Therefore, when the rotational speeds of the engine 110 and the motor 140 are equal, the engine clutch 130 is then engaged, so that both the engine 110 and the motor 140 drive the vehicle, or the engine 110 drives the vehicle (i.e., transitioning from EV mode to HEV mode). When a predetermined engine shutoff condition, such as vehicle deceleration, is met, the engine clutch 130 is opened and the engine 110 stops (i.e., transitioning from HEV mode to EV mode). In addition, hybrid vehicles charge their batteries by converting the driving force of the wheels into electrical energy, which is known as brake energy regeneration or regenerative braking.

[0036] The starter generator motor 120 functions as a starter motor when the engine is on and as a generator when recovering rotational energy after the engine is started or during engine shutdown, so the starter generator motor 120 may also be referred to as a "hybrid starter generator (HSG)" and, depending on the circumstances, may be referred to as an "auxiliary motor."

[0037] Figure 4 The relationship between controllers in a vehicle to which such a powertrain is applied is shown.

[0038] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control system of a hybrid vehicle to which an embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable.

[0039] Reference Figure 4 In a hybrid vehicle to which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied, internal combustion engine 110 may be controlled by engine controller 210, torque of starter generator motor 120 and motor 140 may be controlled by motor control unit (MCU) 220, and engine clutch 130 may be controlled by clutch controller 230. Engine controller 210 may also be referred to as an engine management system (EMS). Furthermore, transmission 150 may be controlled by transmission controller 250.

[0040] Each controller may be connected to a hybrid controller unit (HCU) 240, which serves as a high-level controller in a hybrid vehicle to control the overall operation of the powertrain and may provide information required to switch driving modes and control the engine clutch during gear transmission, and / or information required to control engine shutdown to the HCU 240, or may perform operations according to control signals under the control of the HCU 240.

[0041] More specifically, the HCU 240 can determine whether to switch modes based on the vehicle's driving state. For example, the hybrid controller can determine when the engine clutch (EC) 130 opens and can control hydraulic pressure (in the case of a wet EC) or torque capacity (in the case of a dry EC) when the EC is open. The HCU 240 can determine the EC state (locked, slipping, open, etc.) and control when fuel injection to the engine 110 is stopped. The hybrid controller can send a torque command to the MCU 220 to control the torque of the starter generator motor 120 and can control the recovery of engine rotational energy. Furthermore, when controlling driving mode switching, the HCU 240 can control lower-level controllers used to determine and switch modes.

[0042] It should be understood that the aforementioned relationships between controllers and their functions / partitions are exemplary and are not limited to these terms. For example, the HCU 240 may be implemented by allowing any one of the other controllers other than the HCU 240 to provide the corresponding functions, or two or more other controllers may be distributed and provide the corresponding functions.

[0043] Figure 3 and Figure 4 The aforementioned configuration is merely an example of the configuration of a hybrid vehicle, and it should be understood that the hybrid vehicle applicable to the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration.

[0044] Hereinafter, control of a speed shift strategy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described based on the above-described configuration of the hybrid vehicle.

[0045] According to the proposal of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the ratio of adopting the EV mode and the HEV mode may be predicted by predicting the driving load based on the forward path information, and the speed change control may be applied according to the predicted ratio.

[0046] According to an embodiment, applying the predicted ratio to the speed change control may mean applying a speed change diagram optimized for motor efficiency in a higher ratio portion adopting EV mode, and applying a speed change diagram optimized for engine or system efficiency in a higher ratio portion adopting HEV mode.

[0047] According to an embodiment, when it is impossible to predict the ratio of the EV mode or the HEV mode or within a specific range, the shift map may be matched with the driving mode (ie, CD / CS mode) based on the SoC.

[0048] The shift diagram corresponding to the EV mode can be set to maintain a specific RPM cycle range (e.g., 3000 to 4000 RPM) where the motor 140 has optimal efficiency, and can be set to maintain a specific RPM time range (e.g., 1500 to 2500 RPM) where the engine 110 has optimal efficiency, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0049] Each of the shift diagram corresponding to the EV mode and the shift diagram corresponding to the HEV mode may include multiple shift lines depending on the vehicle speed and the accelerator pedal sensor (APS) value, and may be provided relative to each of the shift of the upward gear stage and the shift of the downward gear stage, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0050] First, refer to Figure 5 The speed shift control according to the embodiment will be described based on the control system. Figure 5 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of speed change control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Reference Figure 5 , the HCU 240 can predict a representative driving mode based on the path information and the EV line as a reference power (or reference torque) for switching between the EV mode and the HEV mode, and can send a shift map command to the transmission controller 250 indicating that a shift map corresponding to the predicted representative driving mode is applied among the shift map corresponding to the EV mode and the shift map corresponding to the HEV mode.

[0052] The transmission controller 250 may determine a shift stage suitable for the current driving condition by applying the vehicle speed and an accelerator pedal sensor (APS) value to a shift map corresponding to a shift map command, and may send a shift command to the transmission 150 .

[0053] Here, the EV line may be a value previously retained in the HCU 240 or a value dynamically set by the HCU 240 in consideration of the vehicle speed, the SoC of the battery, and the like.

[0054] In addition, the path information may be obtained from a navigation system (not shown) and may include at least one piece of information for calculating the required power depending on the driving load. For example, the path information may include information about the road configuration and the road conditions to the destination. The information about the road configuration may include at least one of the road type, the slope of the road, the speed limit, the curve information and the length of the road section, and the information about the road conditions may include at least one of the congestion level, the average vehicle speed, whether an accident has occurred and real-time signal information, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Here, the destination does not have to be set explicitly. For example, the destination may be set directly by the driver, may be set autonomously by the navigation system taking into account big data learning or statistical information or driver habits, or may be considered to be going straight at a forward position at a predetermined distance from the current position.

[0055] According to an embodiment, the HCU 240 may predict the required power for each road section to determine a representative driving mode, and may index the predicted required power relative to the ratio of EV mode driving to HEV mode driving. Here, a road section may be a unit obtained by segmenting the predicted forward driving path, and a reference for segmentation may be determined based on at least one of section length, road type, speed limit, average vehicle speed, and gradient change, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0056] The method of predicting the required power of the HCU 240 may include a method using dynamics and a method using statistics, and the index method may be different according to each method, which will be referred to in detail. Figures 6A to 6C Provide a description.

[0057] Figures 6A to 6C is a diagram illustrating a method of determining a pattern prediction index according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0058] First, refer to Figure 6A The predicted required power P_pred for the current road section using dynamics can be obtained based on the vehicle mass Mass, the average vehicle speed Spd_Navi, and the average slope Slope_Navi of the current section obtained from the navigation system.

[0059] The EV line, ie, mode switching power P_trs, may be acquired as a predetermined function according to the vehicle speed Spd and the battery state of charge (SoC).

[0060] The mode prediction index may be calculated based on the difference P_pred-P_trs between the predicted required power P_pred and the mode switching power P_trs calculated above. In this case, the mode prediction index may be proportional to the difference or may be quantified in certain sections.

[0061] For example, it can be seen that as the mode prediction index increases, the ratio of HEV mode driving in the corresponding road section may increase, and as the mode prediction decreases, the ratio of EV mode driving in the corresponding road section may decrease.

[0062] Next, refer to Figure 6B By accumulating and collecting information about the required power characteristics of each time period (e.g., average vehicle speed and slope), the HCU 240 can statistically predict the required power for a time period similar to the current road section. Specifically, based on the position of the current mode switching power P_trs in the statistics of required power for road sections similar to the current road section, the HCU 240 can convert the probability of generating a required power higher than the current mode switching power P_trs into a mode prediction index.

[0063] When the mode prediction index is determined, the HCU 240 may determine a representative driving mode based on the determined mode prediction index. To this end, the HCU 240 may refer to the Figure 6C Reference to the preset representative driving mode shown. Specifically, for a mode determination index range with a higher value (i.e., the HEV mode range), the HEV mode may be determined as the representative driving mode, and for a mode determination index range with a lower value (i.e., the EV mode range), the EV mode may be determined as the representative driving mode. Furthermore, the mode determination index range between the HEV mode range and the EV mode range may be set as an unknown range.

[0064] When the determined mode prediction index corresponds to an unknown range, the HCU 240 may determine a representative mode based on the SoC. For example, when the current SoC is greater than a preset CD / CS reference SoC, the HCU 240 may determine the EV mode as the representative driving mode, and vice versa.

[0065] Through the above-mentioned representative driving mode determination method, when the representative driving mode is clearly determined using the mode prediction index based on the required power, a gear shift diagram suitable for the representative driving mode can be applied, and when the representative driving mode is not clearly determined, a gear shift diagram suitable for the representative driving mode based on the SoC is applied, thereby making it possible to achieve optimal gear shifting in situations such as high-load driving in CD mode or low-load driving in CS mode.

[0066] The shift map determination process described so far can be summarized as follows: Figure 7 shown.

[0067] Figure 7 is a diagram of an example of a shift map determination process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] Reference Figure 7 First, at S710, the HCU 240 may predict the required power relative to the current driving period or the forward driving period. The aforementioned dynamics-based prediction or statistics-based prediction may be applied to the prediction of the required power, and in some embodiments, both methods may be used.

[0069] When the required power is predicted, a mode prediction index may be determined at S720 by having a magnitude difference of the mode switching power or possibility distribution. The determined mode prediction index may be inserted into a representative driving mode determination reference, such as Figure 6C shown.

[0070] If the determined mode prediction indicator corresponds to an unclear range ("YES" at S730), the representative driving mode may be determined as the battery SoC state at S740A. For example, if the SoC is less than the "low" state, i.e., the CD / CS reference SoC, a shift map corresponding to HEV mode may be applied at S750A. Otherwise, a shift map corresponding to EV mode may be applied at S750B.

[0071] On the contrary, when the mode prediction index does not correspond to the unclear range ("No" at S730) and corresponds to the HEV mode ("Yes" at S740B), it can be determined at S750A to apply the speed shift diagram corresponding to the HEV mode, and when the mode prediction index corresponds to the EV mode ("No" at S740B), it can be determined at S750B to apply the speed shift diagram corresponding to the EV mode.

[0072] The determination result of the above-mentioned shift map can be output in a form that can be recognized by the driver. In detail, the hybrid vehicle according to the embodiment may include a display of a cluster, a head unit or an audio / video / navigation (AVN) system, or a display device of a head-up display (HUD). When receiving a signal regarding the transmission map determined from the hybrid controller, the display device may display corresponding information, which will refer to Figure 7 Provide a description.

[0073] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a form of executing startup control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] Reference Figure 8 , the hybrid vehicle according to the embodiment may output the determination result of the shift map in one area 810 of the cluster 800 that allows text display.

[0075] It goes without saying that this display form is exemplary, and the text may be replaced by a warning light that flashes at a fixed position, or the text may be displayed in the form of an icon.

[0076] In addition, the display position and display form can also be changed to another position in the cluster, or to the display or head-up display of the AVN system or the host computer.

[0077] The hybrid vehicle related to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure as configured above can select a more efficient shift map.

[0078] Specifically, according to the present disclosure, a shift map can be selected by considering the ratio of driving modes in which required power is accompanied by engine driving, and thus, the actual driving source during traveling and the shift map can be matched with each other, thereby improving efficiency.

[0079] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the effects achievable with the present disclosure are not limited to the above specific description, and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the detailed description.

[0080] The foregoing disclosure may also be implemented as computer-readable code stored on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be subsequently read by a computer. Examples of computer-readable recording media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like.

[0081] It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to cover the modifications and variations of the present disclosure as long as they fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a speed change of a hybrid vehicle, the method comprising: Predicting the required power for the forward driving path via the hybrid controller; determining a representative driving mode based on a mode switching power and the predicted required power, the mode switching power serving as a reference for switching between a first driving mode using only the electric motor and a second driving mode using at least the engine; and applying, via a transmission controller, any one of a first shift map corresponding to the first driving mode and a second shift map corresponding to the second driving mode based on the representative driving mode determined by the hybrid controller, Wherein, determining the representative driving mode includes: determining a mode prediction index based on the mode switching power and the predicted required power; and determining the representative driving mode based on the mode prediction index, wherein determining the representative driving mode based on the mode prediction index is performed by dividing the mode prediction index into a plurality of ranges with reference to a representative driving mode determination reference; The plurality of ranges include a first range corresponding to the first driving mode, a second range corresponding to the second driving mode, and a third range corresponding to a difference between the first range and the second range.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the determined mode prediction index corresponds to the third range, the applying includes applying the first shift map or the second shift map based on a state of charge of a battery powering the electric motor.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The applications include: When the state of charge is equal to or greater than a preset reference, applying the first shift map; and When the state of charge is less than the preset reference, the second shift map is applied.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The preset reference corresponds to a reference for switching between the charge depletion mode and the charge maintenance mode.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The predicted required power includes at least one of the following: predicting a first required power based on at least one of a weight of the hybrid vehicle, a gradient of a travel route, and an average vehicle speed; and The second required power is predicted based on required power information accumulated and collected on a route similar to the travel route.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: Determining the mode prediction index based on the mode switching power and the predicted required power includes: determining the mode prediction index based on a difference between the first required power and the mode switching power; or The mode prediction indicator is determined based on a likelihood that the second required power is greater than the mode switching power. 7 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method according to claim 1 .

8. A hybrid vehicle comprising: a hybrid controller configured to: predict a required power for a forward driving path; determine a representative driving mode based on a mode switching power and the predicted required power, the mode switching power serving as a reference for switching between a first driving mode using only the electric motor and a second driving mode using at least the engine; and determining whether to apply any one of a first shift map corresponding to the first driving mode and a second shift map corresponding to the second driving mode based on the determined representative driving mode; and a transmission controller configured to apply a shift map determined between the first shift map and the second shift map applied by the hybrid controller, wherein the hybrid controller determines a mode prediction index based on the mode switching power and the predicted required power, and determines the representative driving mode based on the mode prediction index, The hybrid controller determines the representative driving mode by dividing the mode prediction index into a plurality of ranges with reference to a representative driving mode determination reference. The plurality of ranges include a first range corresponding to the first driving mode, a second range corresponding to the second driving mode, and a third range corresponding to a difference between the first range and the second range.

9. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 8, wherein: When the determined mode prediction index corresponds to the third range, the hybrid controller determines whether to apply the first shift map or the second shift map based on a state of charge of a battery that supplies power to the electric motor.

10. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 9, wherein: The hybrid controller determines to apply the first shift map when the state of charge is equal to or greater than a preset reference, and determines to apply the second shift map when the state of charge is less than the preset reference.

11. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 10, wherein: The preset reference corresponds to a reference for switching between the charge depletion mode and the charge maintenance mode.

12. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 8, wherein: The hybrid controller predicts a first required power based on at least one of the weight of the hybrid vehicle, the gradient of the travel route, and an average vehicle speed, or predicts a second required power based on required power information accumulated and collected on a route similar to the travel route.

13. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 12, wherein: The hybrid controller determines the mode prediction index based on a difference between the first required power and the mode switching power, or determines the mode prediction index based on a possibility that the second required power is greater than the mode switching power.

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