Subaru has filed a trademark utility for “STe” nomenclature with the German Patent and Trademark Workplace (DPMA), probably hinting at a efficiency badge for future electrical vehicles.

First noticed by CarBuzz, STe seems like a substitute for STI, the efficiency badge Subaru is shelving. The automaker final yr introduced that there could be no WRX STI for this technology, saying future efficiency fashions would wish to concentrate on lowered emissions and electrification, and that the present WRX launched for the 2022 mannequin yr could be so far as that platform went.

STI stands for Subaru Tecnica Worldwide, which debuted in 1988 as Subaru’s motorsports division and maker of its most hardcore efficiency highway vehicles, usually variants of the WRX. Previous to 2006, the acronym was spelled with a lowercase “i,” and in all caps after that. STe returns to that unique fashion, serving as a callback to STI, with a lowercase “e” seemingly standing for “electrified.”

When it introduced the discontinuation of the WRX STI, Subaru mentioned it appears to be like “ahead to incorporating the essence of STI into our subsequent technology of automobiles,” indicating the rally-bred STI lineup may broaden to or affect different automobiles. Electrical automobiles, particularly.

Subaru’s solely present EV is the Solterra crossover, co-developed with Toyota, and equivalent in most respects to the bigger automaker’s bZ4X. On the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon, Subaru confirmed a Solterra STI idea decked out with a roof spoiler, full physique package, and customized wheels, however no efficiency modifications.

Subaru additionally confirmed the STI E-RA Problem Venture idea, a 1,072-hp electrical racer, on the 2022 Tokyo Salon. So Subaru does seem to have some curiosity in efficiency EVs. STe simply could be the badge they put on.