A vehicle control apparatus includes a controller that selects an electric vehicle (EV) mode where an output clutch is disengaged and a wheel is driven by a motor, or a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode where the output clutch is engaged and the wheel is driven by an engine and the motor. The controller engages the output clutch during the EV mode to adjust a gear ratio of a continuously variable transmission, and switches, in accordance with a battery state, an adjustment mode for the gear ratio, during the EV mode, between a first adjustment mode that allows the gear ratio to be adjusted in accordance with a vehicle speed, and a second adjustment mode that allows the gear ratio to be adjusted to and kept at a reference gear ratio smaller than a lowest speed gear ratio regardless of the vehicle speed.