Kia recently unveiled the revamped 2023 Kia Sportage, which hopes to court outdoorsy customers with a rugged new trim level called X-Pro. It now seems as though Kia may have more off-road focused Pro-X models on the way, with the automaker filing a number of related trademark applications with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office this week
The Korean automaker has moved to trademark both ‘Telluride X-Pro’ and ‘Sorento X-Pro’ in Canada – potentially signalling the future arrival of X-Pro variants of mid-size and large crossover models. These X-Pro variants would likely feature similar equipment to the newly introduced Sportage X-Pro, such as all-terrain tires, redesigned front and rear bumpers, body side cladding and roof rails.
The Sportage, as well as the Sorento, are also offered in an X-Line variant, which features similarly rugged styling to the X-Pro, but with more pavement-appropriate 19-inch wheels and tires. We also uncovered trademark filings for Telluride X-Line this week, so it may also apply this two-pronged off-road trim level strategy to the Telluride nameplate. The Sorento X-Line debuted for the 2021 model year.
A trademark filing is not concrete indication that an automaker will release a certain vehicle in any one market, so we can’t confirm that Kia has more X-Pro and X-Line models on the way. It’s a realistic assumption, though, and we believe this would be a good idea considering the growing popularity of crossovers and SUVs here in Canada.
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