Toyota Tacoma, Sequoia and Celica trademarked for Oz

Toyota has gone on a trademarking frenzy and applied to secure just about all of its biggest and key nameplates from around the world, including Tacoma, Sequoia and Celica.

But before you go getting too excited, the brand’s local division has indicated the mass trademarking effort is purely for intellectual security and not representative of any upcoming product plans or releases.

That said, having a nameplate secured in a market is still a step in the right direction for a possible introduction down the line, and there are some models included in this latest wave that haven’t been definitively ruled out for Australia, most notably the Tundra-based Sequoia.

With the Tundra now on sale in Australia it would make perfect sense for its full-sized SUV sibling to also make the trek via Toyota Australia and Walkinshaw Automotive’s remanufacturing program to bolster the line-up and provide a more capable five-door towing rig than the handy LandCruiser 300 Series.

Less likely for our shores however is the mid-sized Tacoma pick-up truck, which by most accounts will serve as the basis for the next-generation Toyota Hilux due sometime next year.

As for the Celica, there have been dozens of rumours, theories and reports flying around about how the iconic rally nameplate will be making a comeback on a sub-Supra sportscar – positioned above the GR86 – packing a mighty 2.0-litre turbo-petrol powertrain and all-wheel drive.

A fresh trademark filing for the nameplate is undoubtedly fuel to the speculation fire, but it’s also quite possible Toyota is just taking stock and re-securing one of its most legendary nameplates.

Other high-profile nomenclatures to be submitted include ‘Alphard’ (luxury MPV), ‘Highlander’ (aka Kluger), ‘Aygo’ (super mini), ‘Proace’ (compact van) and ‘Vista’ (old Camry).

‘GR Supra Track Edition’ was also among the recent applications, however carsales understands this nameplate is set to be utilised almost imminently for the long-time-coming flagship Supra, originally touted as the GRMN.

Toyota has stayed tight-lipped on the topic, but our sources tell us an announcement on the BMW M-spec Supra will be made shortly.

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