General Motors has recently filed an application to register the name "Chevrolet Trailblazer Activ" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), listed under the Goods and Services section referring to 'motor land vehicles' (what else would it be). That got us wondering what GM has planned for such a title.

GM Authority has done some digging on where the Activ name has been used on Chevy products before and aside from the Chevrolet Spark Activ it sells here in the US, there is also the Onix Activ and Spin Activ models sold in South America. The two are essentially the same as standard Onix and Spin variants but come loaded with rugged-looking body panels and a set of roof rails.

Trailblazer, meanwhile, is the name given to Chevy's new crossover destined for the Chinese market. This model should make it to the US in due course, which is where the US registered trademark may be used.

Either this new vehicle will be sold simply as the Trailblazer Activ here or it will be used as the name for a more visually rugged trim option as is currently the case with the Spark. The last time we had a Trailblazer in North America, it was a mid-sized SUV with a body on frame chassis. This time, however, it will be much smaller and use a car-based unibody chassis.

As such, it's expected to slot in somewhere below the new Blazer and just above the subcompact Trax. At that end of the market, the addition of an Activ variant with off-road styled body panels and unique interior trim could help differentiate the Trailblazer from the competition, giving Chevrolet a full range of crossovers it can use to cater to this ever-growing market segment.