A liftgate, also called a hatch

Hatch

Hatch may refer to:* Hatching, also called "cross-hatching", an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects using closely spaced parallel lines* Hatching, the emergence of a young animal from an egg...

, hatchback

Hatchback

A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...

 or liftback, is a closure at the rear of a vehicle that can be mechanically raised during loading and unloading of cargo. The angle of lift determines the style name.

A liftgate differs from a tailgate

Tailgate

Tailgate is an American English word denoting the door or 'gate' at the back of a wagon, pickup truck, SUV or other similar type of vehicle that is hinged at the bottom and can be opened for the convenience in loading cargo into the rear of the vehicle...

 in that a tailgate is usually found on a pickup truck

Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...

 or utility truck

Utility vehicle

Utility vehicle is used to describe a vehicle, generally motorized, that is designed for a specific task.-Sport utility vehicle:Vehicles similar to a station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis, usually with off-road capability....

 and is merely opened downwards or "lowered" for loading and unloading of cargo.

Trucks

Another type of "liftgate" is also used to describe a goods lifting platform installed at the rear of trucks and vans to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo. These are usually powered by a hydraulic system.