There is provided control over transmission stages which suppresses unnecessary shifts to a higher speed based on road information stored in a navigation system to allow smooth acceleration. An intersection ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction is detected based on the road information stored in the navigation system and, when the vehicle is decelerated as it approaches the intersection, an optimum transmission stage for acceleration is selected in advance in accordance with the speed of the vehicle by predicting the acceleration to be performed when exiting the intersection. This eliminates the need for a shift to a lower speed before effecting acceleration by pressing the accelerator and thereby ensures smooth acceleration.