Emblems for the Nissan Xtrerra title are being renewed, hinting at a attainable return of the rugged SUV.
Nissan filed trademark renewal functions for “Xterra” and “Nissan Xterra” within the U.S. Dec. 23, 2024. Each logos apply to “motor automobiles, particularly vehicles, sport utility automobiles, and structural elements thereof.”
2015 Nissan Xterra
Trademark filings will be an early trace that an automaker is seeking to revive a reputation from its previous. The Honda Prelude trademark was renewed within the U.S. in 2023, and Honda has since confirmed that the coupe will return as a hybrid. However typically these filings do not lead anyplace, a minimum of, not immediately. We nonetheless have not seen a brand new Ford Thunderbird, for instance.
The Xterra title does not have as prolonged a historical past because the Thunderbird or Prelude, nevertheless it was a particular mannequin in its personal proper, focusing extra on off-road functionality than different Nissan SUVs of its time. It was launched to the U.S. for the 2000 mannequin yr and was redesigned for 2005. That second-generation Xterra lasted all the best way till 2015, when the mannequin was discontinued.
2015 Nissan Xterra
Robust SUV gross sales might present the impetus for a brand new Xterra, one thing Nissan has hinted at since a minimum of 2017. And it is already introduced again the title, kind of, within the type of the Center Japanese-market X-Terra, a model of the Terra body-on-frame SUV that launched there in 2020. The Terra arrived in 2018, fueling hypothesis that it could function the premise for a brand new U.S.-market Xterra, though some updates could also be required at this level in its lifecycle.
It is unclear how a lot of a precedence a brand new Xterra could be as Nissan strikes to merge with Honda by subsequent yr. The 2 automakers confirmed merger talks final month, probably offering a wanted lifeline to Nissan. In November, an insider warned that the automaker had solely 12-14 months to outlive.