GM Files For ‘GMC Granite’ Trademark For The Fourth Time - GM Authority

General Motors has once again filed to register GMC Granite as a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), GM Authority has discovered. The automaker’s April 11^th, 2019 filing is assigned is assigned serial number 88381152 and represents the fourth time that GM has filed to register the name. Like in the past, this GMC Granite filing is for “Motor land vehicles, namely, on-road passenger automobiles”.

General Motors' GMC Granite Trademark Applications
Word Mark	Filing Date	Serial Number	Status
GMC Granite	April 11, 2019	88381152	Live	Motor land vehicles, namely, on-road passenger automobiles
GMC Granite	May 26, 2015	86640666	Live	Motor land vehicles, namely, on-road passenger automobiles
GMC Granite	November 17, 2010	85178926	Dead	Motor land vehicles, namely, on-road passenger automobiles
GMC Granite	November 9, 2009	77868149	Dead	Motor land passenger vehicles, namely automobiles

The first application for the GMC Granite name dates back to November 2009, while the second one was filed in November 2010. Both of those filings have been abandoned and are “dead” within the trademark system. The third application is dated May 2015, and will soon be considered dead, since GM has a grand total of three years during which to prove to the trademark office that it has a real-world product or service by the name being applied for – a requirement to successfully register the trademark. Hence, GM seems to have preemptively filed the fourth trademark on April 11^th.

The GM Authority Take

If there were any doubts that GM is serious about securing trademark rights to the GMC Granite name for a future GMC vehicle, this fourth filing should dispel them. Simply put, the automaker has been actively pursuing the GMC Granite trademark for a full decade, which is something it wouldn’t do if it didn’t have plans for the name.

2010 GMC Granite concept

As for what a production-intent GMC Granite will be, our bet is on a subcompact crossover to slot below the compact GMC Terrain. The segment is white-hot, growing 42 percent to 810,827 units during the 2018 calendar year. New entrants are popping up left and right, and GMC – a brand whose portfolio is comprised exclusively of utilities and pickups – is noticeably absent.

That said, GM is cleaning up in the segment. It accounted for 23 percent segment share during 2018 with the Chevy Trax and Buick Encore. Both of those models will soon be replaced by their second-generation successors – the new Chevrolet Trailblazer and new Buick Encore GX. Both will ride on GM’s all-new VSS-F platform. A GMC Granite variant would bolster GM’s presence in the segment, while delivering a unique offering with styling synonymous with the GMC brand. In fact, we wonder why GM hasn’t brought a subcompact GMC crossover to market sooner.

2020 GMC Granite Concept

Whenever a GMC Granite does arrive, don’t expect it to look at all similar to the 2010 GMC Granite concept, which was a hatchback of sorts. Instead, we expect the Granite to be a small crossover along the lines of Chevy’s new Trailblazer, but with GMC styling.

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