Patent ID: 8412422

Claim:
A vehicle control apparatus for a vehicle that includes a brake mechanism, which produces a braking force through actuation of a first actuator, and a shift mechanism, which changes a shift position of a transmission through actuation of a second actuator, the vehicle control apparatus comprising: a controller that controls the electric power supplied to the first actuator based on electric signals that indicate the state of a brake operation member that a driver of the vehicle operates to control the brake mechanism and to the second actuator based on electric signals that indicate to the state of a shift operation member that the driver operates to control the shift mechanism; a first electric power supply unit that supplies electric power to the controller; a second electric power supply unit that supplies electric power to the first actuator; a vehicle speed sensor that detects a speed of the vehicle; and a voltage sensor that detects a voltage supplied from the second electric power supply unit, wherein: the controller includes an actuator control unit that controls the electric power supplied to the second actuator from the second electric power supply unit when the second actuator is not able to operate using the electric power supplied from the first electric power supply unit; each of the electric power supply units is rechargeable; and the controller permits the supply of electric power from the second electric power supply unit to the second actuator when the detected voltage supplied from the second electric power supply unit is lower than a first predetermined voltage and equal to or higher than a second predetermined voltage.