BYD Offices Raided Over JLR Allegations; Hague Hearing Nov. 11
Court-appointed officers raided two BYD offices in the Netherlands in August 2026 in a Jaguar Land Rover dispute over the Ti 7 SUV. A preliminary hearing is set for November 11. No infringement has been found, and neither carmaker has commented publicly.
Court-appointed officers raided two Dutch offices of Chinese carmaker BYD in August 2026 as part of an intellectual property dispute with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), with a preliminary hearing set for November 11 in The Hague. The BYD offices raided over allegations that its Ti 7 SUV infringes rights tied to the Land Rover Defender are in Schiedam and Hoofddorp.
Authorities seized digital records from both sites. No finding of intellectual property infringement has been made.
What JLR alleges
JLR, the British automaker, alleges the Ti 7 infringes intellectual property rights associated with the Defender. It reportedly suspects BYD took apart a Defender to reverse-engineer some of its technology for the Ti 7.
BYD's lawyers have challenged the scope of the seizure. They described it as a "fishing expedition." Neither automaker has commented publicly on the proceedings.
The SUV at the center
The Ti 7 went on sale in China in September 2025 under the Fang Cheng Bao brand, first as Bao 7 and later as Tai 7. It has a boxy body, an upright front end, squared wheel arches and a rear-mounted storage compartment. Its look has often been compared with the Defender.
In China the plug-in hybrid launched at 179,800 yuan ($26,900), with the top trim at 219,800 yuan ($32,900). It pairs a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with electric motors. BYD added an all-electric version in April 2026, with a maximum range of 755 km on China's CLTC test cycle, priced from 199,800 yuan ($29,900) to 239,800 yuan ($35,900).
UK launch plans
BYD has opened UK pre-orders at £47,995 ($64,400). The seven-seat Land Rover Defender 110 costs £68,465. The first Ti 7 cars are due in British showrooms in November 2026, and customer deliveries start in January 2027.
The UK model has three rows of seats, unlike the five-seat Chinese version. It combines a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with two electric motors for 402 hp (300 kW). Its 35.6 kWh battery gives an electric range of up to 119 km on the WLTP test cycle. BYD quotes a length of 5,146 mm for the UK car, including the rear-mounted spare wheel.
JLR has fought a similar case before. In 2019 it won a legal case against Jiangling Motor Corporation over the Landwind X7, which closely resembled the Range Rover Evoque.
The Hague hearing on November 11 is preliminary. It will not settle whether the Ti 7 copies the Defender.
