Bailiffs acting for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) seized digital records from Chinese carmaker BYD's offices in the Netherlands in August, it has emerged, as the British firm prepares a court case over claims that BYD's Ti7 SUV copies the Land Rover Defender.

The searches took place at BYD premises in Schiedam and Hoofddorp, according to an investigation first reported by The Sunday Times on Sunday 8 November 2026 and reported by motoring publications on Monday. A preliminary hearing at a court in The Hague is due on Wednesday, when a judge will decide whether JLR's case can go ahead.

At the centre of the dispute is the Ti7, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV sold in China under BYD's Fangchengbao brand. The model is open for pre-orders in the UK under the BYD badge, where it is priced from £47,995, undercutting the seven-seat Defender 110 by more than £20,000.

What JLR is claiming

JLR claims that BYD stripped down a Defender to reverse-engineer elements of its technology while developing the Ti7. That is an allegation, not a finding: no court has ruled that BYD copied anything, and the hearing this week will deal with procedural questions about the seized evidence and whether the case can proceed.

According to The Sunday Times, JLR's legal team moved quickly to secure the digital records before they could be destroyed. The newspaper also reported that BYD's team attempted to stall the seizure, with bailiffs describing the delaying tactics as unprecedented.

Both companies have declined to comment on the proceedings. When contacted by Auto Express, JLR said it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, and a BYD UK spokesperson declined to comment for the same reason.

Why the Ti7 matters to JLR

The Ti7 is about five metres long, a similar size to the Defender 110, and uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine as part of a plug-in hybrid setup rather than the six-cylinder and V8 engines offered in the Defender. Comparisons with the Defender have followed the model since it went on sale in China in September 2025, and a fully electric version has been announced in China, although it is not yet known whether it will reach the UK.

The price gap is part of the commercial stakes. At £47,995, the Ti7 is set to be the cheapest seven-seat SUV of its size on sale in the UK, and JLR will argue that the similarities go beyond styling to technology it says was taken from the Defender.

JLR has fought this battle before

JLR is no stranger to disputes with Chinese carmakers over vehicles that resemble its own. It spent years fighting a high-profile legal battle in China against Jiangling Motor over its LandWind X7, which bore a resemblance to the Range Rover Evoque, and won that landmark case in Beijing in 2019.

At the same time, JLR has taken a different approach to the wider competition from China. It has paired up with Chery Automotive Group in a 50:50 joint venture to bring back the Freelander name as a standalone brand, with the resulting Freelander 8 SUV set to be sold in the UK. Under the venture, JLR owns the Freelander brand and leads design, while Chery provides technology and the global supply chain.

Wednesday's hearing will not decide whether the Ti7 infringes JLR's intellectual property. It will decide whether the case, and the evidence seized in the Netherlands, can go forward.

Sources

Auto Express: BYD offices raided over Land Rover Defender copycat claims

Fleet World: JLR raids BYD offices over 'copycat' Defender claims