A vehicle hitching assist apparatus , the vehicle hitching assist apparatus being configured to assist in hitching between a vehicle including a first hitch portion and a trailer including a second hitch portion connected to the first hitch portion , the vehicle hitching assist apparatus comprising: a first mode configured to, when an image pattern of the second hitch portion is acquired, detect a position of the second hitch portion based on a comparison between the image pattern and an image acquired by an external world perception sensor mounted on a rear portion of the vehicle , and output a steering instruction for assisting in the hitching between the trailer and the vehicle based on the detected position of the second hitch portion to a steering controller of the vehicle ; and a second mode configured to, when the image pattern is not acquired, issue a notification for prompting a driver of the vehicle to manually hitch the trailer and the vehicle , wherein: the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to start processing for learning the image pattern when the first hitch portion is hidden from the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the trailer and the vehicle are hitched manually in the second mode, or the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to record the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion are connected manually in the second mode, and start processing for learning the image pattern upon completion of the manual connection between the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion . a first mode configured to, when an image pattern of the second hitch portion is acquired, detect a position of the second hitch portion based on a comparison between the image pattern and an image acquired by an external world perception sensor mounted on a rear portion of the vehicle , and output a steering instruction for assisting in the hitching between the trailer and the vehicle based on the detected position of the second hitch portion to a steering controller of the vehicle ; and a second mode configured to, when the image pattern is not acquired, issue a notification for prompting a driver of the vehicle to manually hitch the trailer and the vehicle , wherein: the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to start processing for learning the image pattern when the first hitch portion is hidden from the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the trailer and the vehicle are hitched manually in the second mode, or the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to record the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion are connected manually in the second mode, and start processing for learning the image pattern upon completion of the manual connection between the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion . the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to start processing for learning the image pattern when the first hitch portion is hidden from the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the trailer and the vehicle are hitched manually in the second mode, or the vehicle hitching assist apparatus is configured to record the image acquired by the external world perception sensor when the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion are connected manually in the second mode, and start processing for learning the image pattern upon completion of the manual connection between the first hitch portion and the second hitch portion . <EOS>