Jaguar Land Rover alleges BYD's Ti7 seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV infringes intellectual property associated with the Land Rover Defender, according to UK newspapers The Guardian and The Times.

The newspapers first reported the dispute, which is now before a Dutch court, with Motor1 subsequently covering the case. No finding of infringement has been made, and both companies declined to comment on the allegations.

JLR suspects BYD dismantled a Defender to reverse-engineer some of its technology for the Ti7, the newspapers reported. The allegations concern intellectual property, rather than simply the two vehicles' similar appearance.

Court-appointed bailiffs acting for JLR searched BYD's offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp in the Netherlands in August 2026 and seized digital records. The Guardian reported that JLR sought to secure the records before they could be destroyed.

BYD's lawyers described the process as a “fishing expedition” and argued that too many files had been seized. JLR's advisers accused BYD of obstructing the process.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 11 November 2026 in The Hague to determine whether BYD has a case to answer over the alleged intellectual property infringement.

Motor1 contacted both companies for comment. “JLR does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” Jaguar Land Rover said. BYD said: “We have no comment to make at this time.”

The Ti7 has a boxy body, upright nose, squared wheel arches, a tailgate-mounted spare wheel and a side-hinged rear door. Those features have drawn comparisons with the Defender, but no infringement finding has followed.

In the UK, the Ti7 is offered solely in Excellence AWD specification, priced from £47,995 (approx. A$93,200) on the road. Showroom arrivals are scheduled for November 2026, followed by customer deliveries from January 2027.

Its DM-p plug-in hybrid system combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with two electric motors for a combined 300kW. A 35.6kWh battery provides up to 119km of electric driving range on the WLTP cycle.

The UK model has seven seats, measures 5146mm long including its rear-mounted spare wheel, and has a quoted 0-100km/h time of approximately 4.8 seconds.

The SUV has been sold in China under BYD's Fang Cheng Bao brand since September 2025. An electric version joined the Chinese range in April 2026, with up to 755km of range on the CLTC test cycle.

The Ti7 is separate from BYD's recently revealed Atto 8 seven-seat electric SUV, which also remains unconfirmed for Australia.

BYD Australia has not confirmed a local launch for the Ti7. The Ti7 name was trademarked in Australia in December 2025, while the UK model establishes a right-hand-drive version.

Previous slide Next slide