Patent ID: 8424624

Claim:
A vehicle, comprising: an internal combustion engine capable of outputting power for driving the vehicle; a motor constructed to input and output power for driving the vehicle; an accumulator unit designed to transmit electric power to and from the motor; a power demand setting module configured to set a power demand required for driving the vehicle; and a controller programmed to, in a repeatedly run control routine, at a temperature raising time that is a time when the accumulator unit is raised in temperature and a state of charge of the accumulator unit is within a predetermined range, control the internal combustion engine, charging or discharging of the accumulator unit, and the motor so that: (i) if the set power demand is more than or equal to a first power, then the accumulator unit is discharged; (ii) if the set power demand is less than a second power which is smaller than the first power, then the accumulator unit is charged; (iii) if the set power demand is less than the first power and more than or equal to the second power, then the accumulator unit keeps being charged or discharged based on the power demand set in the last execution of the control routine.