GM Files To Trademark Chevrolet Colorado In Malaysia

General Motors has filed to trademark Chevrolet Colorado in Malaysia, GM Authority has exclusively learned.

The Detroit-based automaker filed its application with the Intellectual Property Office of Malaysia on August 13^th, 2019. The filing is assigned serial number TM2019029489 and is categorized in the goods and services category of “Motor vehicles and parts thereof.”

The filing seems to indicate that GM is working on bringing its bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand back to Malaysia, after ceasing to sell new Chevy vehicles in the market back in November 2018. That withdrawal was due to a termination of a business agreement with Naza Quest, which was the sole distributor in the country that took place until November 15th^th, 2018.

When GM announced the dissolution of its contract with Naza Quest, it was very clear that the move to stop selling Chevrolets in the Southeast Asian country was temporary. In fact, GM thinks of Malaysia as a market with “strong growth potential and a loyal customer base,” according to a 2018 press release.

Upon the dissolution of its agreement with Naza Quest, Chevrolet noted that it was in advanced discussions with a potential new master distribution partner, and will resume new vehicle sales as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Naza was to continue to providing warranty service and aftersales coverage to existing Chevrolet customers until the new Chevrolet distributor came online.

“Chevrolet is here to stay in Malaysia and we will be announcing our new distributor partner as soon as possible,” GM Southeast Asia General Director, Vanchana Unakul, was quoted as saying in late 2018.

The move to trademark Chevrolet Colorado in Malaysia is the first tangible evidence of GM activity in Malaysia, and likely signals that the automaker is close to restarting vehicle sales in the country.

The Chevrolet Colorado previously available in the market was the international version built at the GM Rayong plant in Thailand. As such, it’s very likely that the Colorado, along with the Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV, will be the pillars of Chevrolet Malaysia lineup once GM has finalized a deal with a new distributor.

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