GM files a trademark for 'Buick Electra' name, potentially using it for a new electric vehicle

General Motors is bringing back a long-dormant brand name.

Earlier this month, GM filed to trademark the name “Buick Electra” with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office, according to Car and Driver.

“GM's decision to dust off the Electra nameplate is of little surprise, given the company's pivot to electric vehicles,” Car and Driver reported. “In fact, Buick revealed an Electra electric SUV concept car at the 2020 Beijing auto show.”

Although GM has not utilized the Electra name in decades, the moniker was reestablished for an electric SUV concept.

According to GM Corporate Newsroom, the all-electric crossover will employ a clean and minimalist design inspired by a space capsule. Its sculptural beauty is distinguished by a spacious glass interior pod situated in an aerodynamic wing-form body shell and a glass canopy that spreads from near the front of the hood to the rear.

“Today, Buick’s innovative thinking and imagination of future intelligent mobility have reached the next level with the Electra,” Sam Basile, executive vice president of SAIC-GM, told GM Corporate Newsroom. “I am confident that the aesthetics and technology innovations reflected on the Electra will ultimately help reset consumers’ expectations, just as all previous Buick concepts have done.”

The Electra name has not been utilized by the company since the 1990 model year, according to Car and Driver.

“Given GM's huge plans for electrification, it makes a lot of sense for a future Buick EV to wear the Electra badge,” CNET reported. “It would certainly be a big departure from the original Electra, which was sold between 1959 and 1990.”