Nissan e-Trail trademark points to plug-in X-Trail

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The "name in the US has only fogged up the already cloudy issue of what the carmaker plans to do with its popular SUV".

, the trademark patent was lodged on January 15 – but only in the US, where the model we know as the X-Trail in Australia is called the Rogue.

While some speculate the e-Trail name could be used on an electric 4-wheel drive to fit between the existing Ariya and the upcoming third-generation Leaf, Nissan's earlier plans leave the door open for a number of possible powertrains.

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Nissan plans to roll out 27 new environmentally-friendly models by the end of next decade, which includes 19 electric vehicles and eight hybrid models, across its regular Nissan and high-end Infiniti brands.

Australia will have alternatively fuelled vans now up for sales, as well as the existing hybrid models, from 2025.

At this stage, there has been no trademark lodged for the e-Trail name in Europe, Japan or Australia.

It's also possible the e-Trail name could be used in some capacity for a version of the Rogue that's yet to be released in the US.

Nissan has released a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model of the US-built ute (Rogue), available for use in left-hand drive only; however, this technology isn't available in the locally delivered Japanese-sourced X-Trail in Australia.

The Rogue PHEV uses the same powertrain as the Outlander PHEV, consisting of a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a pair of electric motors, which are fed by a 20kWh lithium-ion battery.

Nissan hasn't commenced US deliveries of the plug-in Rogue yet, which means it might still be sold as the Rogue e-Trail if Nissan's not keen on mentioning PHEV in its name.

The Nissan factory in Mississippi is getting a A$747 million facelift, which will help it start churning out next-gen electric vehicles.

It's been anticipated that the Rogue PHEV will be manufactured there, instead of at the Tennessee plant that currently produces the SUV for the North American market.

Australian X-Trails have only just started to get the option of an electrified powertrain, and it's in the form of the e-Power system, which is a more complicated take on the normal hybrid powertrain idea.

While the X-Trail e-Power's got a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder petrol motor under the bonnet, it only generates power for a compact battery that drives a pair of electric motors. The engine doesn't have a direct link to the wheels.

Nissan's yet to reveal any plans for a traditional plug-in hybrid option in the locally made X-Trail.

If it does launch one, it'll probably be a fair way behind the Rogue PHEV, based on the time frames of past model releases from the US and Japan.

The current-generation Rogue went on sale in the US late in 2020, whereas its equivalent model, the X-Trail, didn't hit Australian showrooms until May 2022, with Japanese showrooms following in July 2022.

Nissan has updated their X-Trail tech version, including a hybrid electric powertrain, but don't expect to see it here anytime soon.

MORE: Nissan Juke, Qashqai, and X-Trail SUVs to be electrified - report