Jaguar Land Rover has taken legal action against BYD in the Netherlands, alleging the Chinese carmaker’s Ti7 seven-seat SUV infringes the intellectual property of the Land Rover Defender.
According to The Sunday Times, court-ordered bailiffs acting for JLR raided BYD’s Dutch offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp in August and seized digital records. The newspaper reported that JLR suspects BYD reverse-engineered technology that could be used in the Ti7, and wanted the records secured before they could be destroyed.
A court in The Hague is due to hear the case this week, to decide whether BYD has a case to answer.
The Telegraph reported that the two sides appeared in court in The Hague last month over how the seized records could be used, and that BYD described the seizure as a “fishing expedition”. It said the Dutch court was expected to rule on procedural matters this week, including whether the case can proceed and which records JLR may use, and that JLR wants evidence that BYD set out to copy the Defender’s design rather than simply build a similar-looking car.
The Telegraph also reported that JLR is seeking to keep the Ti7 off the European market, but that the case will not be resolved before the car goes on sale in January.
A JLR spokesman said: “JLR does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.” BYD also declined to comment.
The BYD Ti7
The Ti7 is a boxy seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV, sold in China since 2025 as the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7.
BYD opened UK orders in July at £47,995 in a single Excellence AWD specification. It uses BYD’s DM-p plug-in hybrid system, with an electric motor on each axle and a longitudinally mounted 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that mainly acts as a generator. Combined output is 408PS (300kW), with 0–100km/h in 4.8 seconds and a 190km/h top speed. A 35.6kWh Blade battery gives up to 119km of electric range, figures BYD says are subject to final confirmation.
BYD’s UK website lists the Ti7 at 5,146mm long, 1,995mm wide and 1,865mm tall, on a 3,000mm wheelbase. First cars are due in UK showrooms this month, with customer deliveries from January.
JLR’s seven-seat Defender 110 starts at £68,465 in the UK, more than £20,000 above the Ti7. The Defender is one of JLR’s strongest sellers, with 29,500 retail sales between July and September, up from 25,370 a year earlier.
Previous case
JLR has taken on a Chinese carmaker over design before. In 2016 it sued Jiangling Motors in Beijing, claiming the Landwind X7 was a copy of the Range Rover Evoque. In March 2019 the Beijing Chaoyang District Court found that the X7 copied five unique design features of the Evoque, ordered Jiangling to stop making and selling it, and awarded JLR compensation.
At the time, JLR global head of legal Keith Benjamin said: “We welcome this decision of the Beijing court, which further strengthens our confidence in investing in China.”
