Nissan has recently been discovered to have filed a trademark filing for the “IMX” name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The filing, discovered by Autoguide, was made on September 8 and specifies its use for vehicles, including electric vehicles.

The similarity with the IDx name used for a sports car concept unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show is obvious. This has led to speculation that IMX will be the name of a similar sports car concept powered by an electric powertrain, one possibly production-bound.

Nissan has previously shown electric sports car concepts in the form of 2011’s Esflow and 2013’s BlideGlider. The BlideGlider was tentatively confirmed for production but the project never really got off the ground.

Nissan BladeGlider

Nissan BladeGlider

With the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance last week confirming plans to add 12 electric cars by 2022, perhaps we could finally see Nissan launch an electric sports car.

Of course, there are also rumors of Nissan unveiling an electric SUV concept at next month's 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, sharing a platform with the recently revealed second-generation Leaf, so it’s possible the IMX name could be used for this concept.

An SUV would be the most logical body style for Nissan’s next electric car given the popularity of the segment. It was only in May that a senior Nissan executive confirmed that the automaker’s next electric car will in fact be an SUV.

Stay tuned for an update.