Abstract: An electric drive system for a vehicle and a method includes determining a headroom target for a drive system of a vehicle that includes an engine. The method includes determining whether a current speed of the engine can be decreased while the engine continues to provide a requested traction output of the drive system, and responsive to determining that the current speed of the engine can be decreased, decreasing the current speed of the engine to a reduced speed while the engine maintains the headroom target determined by the drive system.

Abstract: A vehicle control system determines that a vehicle is not fully loaded with a payload, determines an upper limit on engine propulsion power for the vehicle that is not fully loaded with the payload, and reduces an engine speed of the vehicle to a determined speed at which a power capability of an engine of the vehicle matches the upper limit on the engine propulsion power of the vehicle.

Abstract: An electric drive system for a vehicle and method includes controlling a propulsion system of the vehicle to operate according to a first torque-speed relationship between a power generated by an engine and a speed of the engine. The engine is controlled according to the first torque-speed relationship during acceleration of the vehicle by motors that are powered by operation of the engine. The method includes determining that operation of the propulsion system has reached a steady state following the propulsion system operating according to the first torque-speed relationship and controlling the propulsion system to operate according to a second torque-speed relationship between the power and the speed of the engine. The second torque-speed relationship is reduced relative to the first torque-speed relationship such that the engine speed in the first torque-speed relationship is associated with a greater amount of power than in the second torque-speed relationship.