GEAR CHANGE CONTROL DEVICE AND GEAR CHANGE CONTROL METHOD

A gear change control device and method thereof are provided. The gear change control device is a target torque control device that sets a target torque of a motor outputting a torque to a multilevel transmission having a torque converter and a lockup clutch. In a case when the lockup clutch is in a fastened state and during upshifting gear change, target torque reduction control is executed for reducing the target torque of the motor such that the output of the motor becomes a torque at which a heat generation temperature of the lockup clutch does not exceed an allowable temperature. If the lockup clutch is fastened, threshold value changing control is executed for changing threshold value of a rotation speed of the motor or the input shaft when the gear range is shifted to the side of higher range during upshifting gear change to a higher rotation speed.