Route planning for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) includes obtaining a route between an origin and a destination, where the route is optimized for at least one of a noise level or energy consumption of an engine of the HEV that is used to charge a battery of the HEV, and where the route comprises respective engine activation actions for at least some segments of the route; and controlling the HEV to follow the segments of the route and to activate the engine according to the respective engine activation actions.