Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has initiated legal proceedings against Chinese automaker BYD, alleging that the latter dismantled a Land Rover Defender to reverse-engineer its technology for use in the BYD Ti7, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV, said reports.
Court-appointed bailiffs raided BYD's offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp in the Netherlands in August and seized digital records, said reports by The Times and The Guardian. JLR had sought the seizure of the records to preserve evidence that could likely be destroyed.
The action has given way to a dispute between the two automakers over the handling of the seized material.
BYD's legal team described the exercise as a "fishing expedition", arguing that an excessive volume of files had been collected. JLR's legal advisers, meanwhile, accused the Chinese automaker of obstructing the process.
The matter is currently before a court in The Hague, which is expected to deliver a preliminary ruling on November 11 to determine whether BYD has a case to answer over the alleged intellectual property infringement.
Dispute Centres On Defender Technology
According to Motor1.com, the BYD Ti7 has been on sale in China since September 2025 under the Fangchengbao Ti7 name. JLR's legal challenge is understood to focus on the alleged reverse-engineering of the Defender's technology rather than being limited to similarities in the vehicles' exterior designs.
The Ti7 is scheduled to enter the UK market in January, with prices starting at £47,995. This puts it around £20,000 below the seven-seat Land Rover Defender 110, which has a starting price of £68,465.
Previous Legal Battle With Chinese Automaker
This is not the first instance of JLR taking a Chinese automotive company to court over alleged copying of its vehicle technology or design.
In 2019, JLR won a legal case against Jiangling Motor Corporation over alleged copying of the Range Rover Evoque.
Both JLR and BYD have declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
