With just days until the second generation of the Volt will be unveiled at the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Chevrolet->ke199 has taken the liberty of adding more fuel to the Volt fire by recently registering the "Crossvolt" name for "automobiles application." No matter how speculative it sounds, this could mean that the the Volt will probably get a bigger brother and thus form an plug-in hybrid->ke147 sub-brand in the nearby future.

The original "Crossvolt" trademark application was actually filed back in 2011, one year after the 2010 Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept car had been unveiled, but it was apparently abandoned in November 2014. A few days ago, another similar application was published for opposition, meaning that the original plan of adding a plug-in hybrid crossover->ke288 or MPV to the lineup still stands.

With the second generation of the Volt to be unveiled in Detroit on January 12, 2015, the "Crossvolt" trademark re-filing could very well mean that a new iteration of the MPV5 concept car could be present alongside the volt. Alternatively, this might mean that we are actually about to see a production version of the Crossvolt at the show.

Some of you probably remember that a hybrid mule of the Euro-spec Chevrolet Orlando->ke3264 was spied last year testing with a group of Chevrolet Volts and a Ford Fusion hybrid in the U.S., which in theory could signify that underneath it may have been the upcoming Crossvolt, but nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.

Whether the model is nearing a launch in production guise or concept form remains to be seen, but what is known for sure is that Chevrolet is more than prepared to use the "Crossvolt" name on an upcoming vehicle.

Click past the jump to read more about the "Crossvolt" moniker.

Why it matters

Even though cars like the Toyota Prius V and the Ford C-Max Energi aren't exactly selling like hot cakes, it would appear that Chevrolet would like a piece of the action with the Crossvolt, unless the trademark filling wasn't made on behalf of an upcoming plug-in hybrid crossover, of course. As a matter of fact, the latter variant would probably make more sense considering the recent increase in appetite for this type of vehicles.

Paired with a variant of the upcoming 2016 Volt's powertrain, the Crossvolt may even hit a homerun if it's engulfed in a stylish crossover body. Even though it is highly probable that most car fans actually hate crossovers and SUVs, especially those that will never hit find themselves of the beaten path, the fact of the matter remains that they keep selling well. With that being said, and judging by both the 2011 Volt MPV5 concept and the peculiar Orlando hybrid mule from last year, the Crossovolt will likely be a compact MPV with either a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Its reveal date may be as early as January 2015, so we might only have to wait a little bit for more information. Regardless of what happens with the Crossvolt name, Chevrolet Volt are likely excited about even the possibility of a crossover version of the Volt. Speaking of which, the 2016 Volt is expected to offer much improved range and more interior space than the first generation, making the addition of the Crossvolt as either an MPV or a crossover variant even more intriguing.

Chevrolet Volt

2010 Chevrolet Volt MPV5