As the potential Honda merger made headlines, Nissan also put in a trademark application for the Xterra name.
The holiday season is usually a bit of a dead stretch as far as news is concerned, but not this year. Nissan and Honda made waves by officially announcing their intent to merge on December 23. That wasn’t the only thing Nissan had in mind just before Christmas, as it turns out, as the Japanese automaker also submitted a new application to use the “Xterra” name to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) the very same day.
Nissan’s request covers a trademark that “consists of standard characters, without claim to any particular font style, size or color”. So it’s not an actual Xterra badge or logo, as such, but rather a claim for the name itself to be used in commerce. That may be down to the automaker still determining whether it is actually going to revive the Xterra SUV, and what any potential branding might look like. The trademark application also specifically covers “motor vehicles, namely automobiles, sport utility vehicles and structural parts thereafter” (emphasis added). Nissan further claimed ownership over prior Xterra marks from 2003, a period in which it actively produced and sold the last models.
That seems pretty clear cut, and the USPTO approved the trademark for Nissan’s use through August 31, 2027.
So, what could we see from a new Nissan Xterra?
In North America, Nissan built the last Xterra across two generations, between 1999 and 2015. It was a body-on-frame off-road-focused SUV based around the Frontier pickup’s ladder frame, with a 4.0-liter V6 engine in its final configuration. Nissan pulled the plug on the model after the 2015 model year, and rumors have swirled about its return ever since.
That’s not to say the automaker gave up the Xterra name worldwide, though. Following the Xterra’s demise stateside, Nissan began selling a “Terra” SUV in Asia in 2018. Since 2020, it’s used the name “X-Terra” to market an SUV based on the D23-generation Navara truck.
The potential Nissan-Honda merger could shake up what we may see in a new model. The most straightforward option, of course, would be to develop and build a new Xterra on the same platform — and perhaps at the same Canton, Mississippi plant — as the current D41 Nissan Frontier, that launched in North America in 2022. Alternatively, the automaker could base a new SUV around the (now older) Navara D23 platform, which has been in production since 2014 in overseas markets.
Honda, for its part, could supply the answer as to what a next-gen Xterra could be: a unibody SUV based on the latest 2026 Honda Passport. Back in the day, the original Passport was a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, so we could potentially see that scenario play out in reverse, wherein Honda supplies a platform and shared mechanical components for Nissan’s next-gen off-roader.
This isn’t the first strong hint we’ve had at a new Xterra recently, either. With the new Bronco now on the market as well as an updated Toyota Land Cruiser, a brand-new 4Runner and, as ever, the iconic Jeep Wrangler, it’d be a perfect (if ferociously competitive) time for Nissan to launch back into the fray with a new Xterra SUV:
