CONTROLLER FOR HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE

A hybrid electric vehicle includes an engine that includes a filter collecting PM from exhaust gas. A controller for the vehicle executes a driving force switching process, a motoring process, and a setting process. The driving force switching process reduces braking torque, which is generated by a drive system during deceleration of the vehicle, so that when execution of a fuel cut-off process of the engine is prohibited, the braking torque is less than when execution of the fuel cut-off process is permitted. The motoring process burns and removes PM from the filter by rotationally driving the engine using a first rotary electric machine during deceleration of the vehicle. The setting process sets a vehicle speed for permitting execution of the motoring process to be higher when execution of the fuel cut-off process is prohibited than when execution of the fuel cut-off process is permitted.