KATHMANDU: Chinese automaker BYD’s offices in the Netherlands were reportedly raided in August following allegations that its Ti7 SUV copies the design and technology of the Land Rover Defender.
According to The Sunday Times, court-appointed bailiffs acting on behalf of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) seized digital records from BYD offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp. The records were collected ahead of a legal hearing in The Hague over alleged intellectual property infringement.
The case involves BYD’s seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV, the Ti7. JLR suspects that BYD copied elements of the Defender and may have reverse-engineered some of its technology during the SUV’s development.
Launched in China in September 2025, the Ti7 has attracted comparisons with the Defender because of its boxy design. BYD plans to launch the SUV in the UK in January 2027, with an expected starting price of around US$64,000.
The price would make it significantly cheaper than the seven-seat Land Rover Defender 110, which starts at around US$91,500 in the UK.
JLR sold 29,500 Defender vehicles to retail customers between July and September 2026, compared with 25,370 units during the same period last year.
Both companies declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
This is not the first time JLR has taken legal action against a Chinese automaker over alleged design copying. In 2019, JLR won a three-year legal battle against Jiangling Motor Corporation over the Landwind X7, which closely resembled the Range Rover Evoque.
