GM-branded Multistow tailgate

General Motors has the MultiPro tailgate, but now it looks like GM is developing another new tailgate to battle with its Detroit rivals.

GM recently filed a trademark application for the “Multistow” name. The application was filed on February 16, 2023 and aims to apply the Multistow name to “liftgates for motor land vehicles”.

2019 GMC Sierra

GM started the trick liftgate craze with the MultiPro liftgate, which debuted on the GMC Sierra and later made its way into the GMC Hummer EV. The Chevrolet Silverado also gets its own version called Multi-Flex. Both brands offer six configurations based around a movable tailgate center section that can serve as a load stop, fold-out step or work surface.

It’s unclear how a GM Multistow tailgate might differ from the company’s current tailgate, but the “stowing” nomenclature implies some sort of storage capability. Chevrolet is offering the new mid-size 2023 Colorado with a StowFlex liftgate that has a small storage area in the middle (see above). Perhaps the Multistow tailgate is a larger version for the full-size trucks.

GM may be going after Ram and its bedside RamBox storage bins. Ram also offers a split tailgate that creates two vertical openings and eases access to the bed. That’s one thing GM’s current MultiPro/Multi-Flex tailgate can’t do.

2019 Ram 1500 with multifunction tailgate

Don’t expect the hatchback wars to stop there, though. A string of new patent filings shows automakers trying to outdo each other by adding liftgate features. A three-part Ford tailgate patent surfaced in 2022, while Rivian has filed patent applications for telescoping and folding tailgates, as well as a tailgate stage.

GM is also bringing back the Midgate for its Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups. Ram showed off its own take on the Revolution BEV concept and previewed the brand’s first production electric truck, the Ram 1500 REV, due for release in 2024.