General Motors has the MultiPro tailgate, but now it looks like GM is developing another new tailgate to battle its Detroit rivals.
GM recently filed a trademark application for the name “Multistow.” The application was filed Feb. 16, 2023 and seeks to apply the Multistow name to “tailgates for motor land vehicles.”
2019 GMC Sierra
GM kicked off the craze for trick tailgates with the MultiPro tailgate that launched on the GMC Sierra and later made its way onto the GMC Hummer EV. The Chevrolet Silverado also gets its own version, dubbed Multi-Flex. Both brands offer six configurations based around a movable center section of the tailgate, which can serve as a load stop, a fold-out step, or a work surface.
It’s unclear how a GM Multistow tailgate might differ from the company’s current tailgate, but the “stow” nomenclature implies some kind of storage capability. Chevrolet offers the new mid-size 2023 Colorado with a StowFlex tailgate that has a small storage area in its center (shown above). Perhaps the Multistow tailgate is a larger version for the full-size trucks.
GM may be going after Ram and its RamBox bed-side storage bins. Ram also offers a split tailgate that creates two vertical openings, making access to the bed easier. That’s one thing GM’s current MultiPro/Multi-Flex tailgate can’t do.
2019 Ram 1500 with Multifunction Tailgate
Don’t expect the tailgate wars to stop there, however. A slew of recent patent filings indicates automakers are looking to one-up each other by adding tailgate features. A Ford trisected tailgate patent surfaced in 2022, while Rivian has filed patent applications for telescoping and folding tailgates, as well as a tailgate step.
GM is also bringing back the midgate for its Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups. Ram showed its own version in the Revolution BEV concept, previewing the brand’s first production electric truck, the Ram 1500 REV, due in 2024.
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