VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS AND VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD

Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control method are described. The vehicle control apparatus may include a compressor and a controller. The controller may determine a thermal load level at one or more of: a first time point at which an engine is switched to an ON state from an OFF state, a second time point at which a first discharge amount of the battery exceeds a first reference value while the engine is in the OFF state, or a third time point at which a second discharge amount of the battery exceeds a second reference value smaller than the first reference value and a discharge rate associated with the battery exceeds a third reference value while the engine is in the OFF state. The controller may control the compressor using a control value corresponding to the thermal load level.