BYD offices raided amid Land Rover copycat claims

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Bailiffs reportedly seize digital documents relating to upcoming Ti 7 as JLR pursues court case over Defender design similarities

MA

Matt Allan

10 November 2026, 14:50 GMT · 3 min read

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Bailiffs in the Netherlands have raided the offices of BYD as part of a legal battle with JLR over claims it has copied the design of the famous Land Rover Defender.

Acting at the request of the British 4×4 specialist’s parent group, the court-appointed officers seized digital documents from BYD’s offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp in August, according to the Sunday Times.

The action was taken amid claims from JLR that the Chinese new energy specialist has copied the Defender design for its Ti 7 SUV.

Due to go on sale in the UK in early 2027, the plug-in hybrid Ti 7 has a boxy rugged look and has already been dubbed a “Defender clone” in the media.

BYD describes the Ti 7 as having “an unapologetically boxy profile” which “delivers the imposing, chunky design that finds favour among SUV buyers”.

JLR, however, claims that it goes further and infringes on its intellectual property due to its similarity to the Defender.

A court in The Hague is now set to consider which, if any, of the seized documents can be used in JLR’s legal action, and determine whether there is a case to answer.

Both JLR and BYD declined to comment on the reports.

UK orders for the BYD Ti 7 open this month with prices starting at £46,995, around £20,000 less than an equivalent Land Rover Defender. The Chinese brand’s rugged seven-seat SUV is positioned to compete with but undercut the Defender as well as other large family SUVs such as the Volvo XC90 and Audi Q7.

It uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor to deliver up to 402bhp and all-wheel drive. A 35.6kWh battery gives an all-electric range of 74 miles, with a combined range of more than 440 miles.

BYD was among the first Chinese car makers to break into the UK with the all-electric Atto 3. Since then its range has expanded to include a total of 12 electric and plug-in hybrid models before the arrival of the Ti 7. So far this year it has sold more than 75,000 cars in the UK, and in 2025 overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest EV manufacturer.

While BYD and JLR are at loggerheads over, the British manufacturer recently confirmed it was reviving the Freelander name through a joint project with China’s Chery.

The new Freelander 8 has been designed by Land Rover – and bears a striking resemblance to previous and current Land Rover products – but is built on Chery’s iMax plug-in hybrid architecture. At 5.1 metres long it is a very similar size to both the BYD Ti 7 and the Land Rover Defender 110, and offers up to 617bhp from its off-road focused all-wheel-drive powertrain.