A hybrid electric vehicle drive apparatus has a setting portion for setting a limit value of a driving torque that a motor outputs when driving a hybrid electric vehicle by the power of the motor only, based on a maximum torque that the motor enables to output and a starling torque used to start an internal combustion engine by the motor. The setting portion sets the limit value to a first value and sets the limit value to a second value which is greater than the first value when a vehicle speed of the vehicle does not increase even though an accelerator pedal position degree increases while the vehicle is being driven only by the motor.