Jaguar Land Rover ordered to destroy documents seized in BYD office raid as part of 'copycat Defender' dispute

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has suffered its first setback in its 'copycat Defender' legal battle with BYD this week.The British car maker, owned by Indian giant Tata, has accused the Chinese brand of producing a lookalike version of its best-selling model.When BYD's seven-seat Ti7 SUV arrives in UK showrooms in early 2027, it will be priced from £47,995, significantly undercutting the Land Rover.The Ti7 is around £21,000 cheaper than the lowest-priced Defender 110 and approximately £35,000 less expensive than the extended-wheelbase Defender 130, which has seven seats as standard.Defender is JLR's best-selling vehicle, with more than 115,000 units delivered globally last year, accounting for around three in every ten of its sales.It emerged earlier this week that it had orchestrated raids on two BYD offices in the Netherlands back in August to seize digital documents regarding the launch of Ti7 in Europe and the UK.A judge in The Hague on Wednesday ruled that the seizure of evidence was unnecessary for substantiating the copying claims - and ordered the British car maker to destroy all records obtained or face fines of up to half a million euros.The hearing was merely the first step in deciding whether BYD has indeed copied the Defender's shape, with the courtroom row likely to drag on for the remainder of this year. Jaguar Land Rover suffered its first setback in its 'copycat Defender' legal battle with BYD. It has launched proceeding against the Chinese firm for the design of its Ti7 SUV pictured JLR, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, is challenging BYD over suggestions that its new SUV's boxy shape infringes its intellectual property rights JLR has chosen the Netherlands as the venue for its legal action because of the country's robust intellectual property laws and history of rulings favourable to IP holders.It has launched proceedings in The Hague relating to the alleged 'infringement of the model right to the Defender' and in Rotterdam over the alleged 'infringement of copyright and slavish imitation of the Defender'.However, this week's hearing was requested by BYD, which described the raids on its offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp as a 'fishing expedition' that went beyond the scope of the copying allegations.The hearing revealed that documents seized from the Chinese company's Dutch headquarters included sourcing information about launch plans for the new Ti7 in European markets, though BYD said the digital records had also included technical and commercially sensitive data.On Wednesday, Judge Hugo van Heemstra ruled in favour of the Chinese company, finding that evidence seized in August was not relevant to the copycat claims or any potential financial damages for JLR because the Ti7 was not yet available in Europe.He ordered JLR to destroy the material or return it to BYD within 24 hours of the ruling.Failure to comply would incur a penalty of €50,000 (£41,800) per hour, capped at €500,000 (£418,000).JLR was also ordered to pay BYD €25,376.57 (£21,200) towards its legal costs. It emerged earlier this week that JLR orchestrated raids on BYD offices in August to seize documents it hoped would contain evidence that the Chinese firm had copied the Defender Join the discussionShould British carmakers be able to stop foreign rivals from selling lookalike vehicles at lower prices?What's your view?A spokesman for JLR told the Daily Mail and This is Money that the company 'does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings'. BYD representatives have also declined to comment.With the copycat case due to begin imminently, JLR is expected to seek an injunction preventing the Ti7 from being sold in European showrooms.However, there are doubts that the case will be resolved before the Ti7 is expected to reach UK dealerships in just two months' time.The Chinese seven-seat SUV uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors, one on each axle, and a sizeable 35.6kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.In electric-only mode, BYD claims the new Ti7 can travel up to 102 miles. It is no slouch either, accelerating from 0 to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds.At 5,146mm long, 1,995mm wide and 1,865mm tall, its dimensions place it between the Defender 110 and 130.BYD's website says its 'unapologetically boxy profile delivers the imposing, chunky design that finds favour among SUV buyers, yet delivers a contemporary look'.JLR argues it intentionally copied the latest generation Defender's design, rather than simply penned a similarly styled vehicle, and infringes its intellectual property rights. BYD's describes its Ti7 as having a 'unapologetically boxy profile' that 'delivers the imposing, chunky design that finds favour among SUV buyers'. Here is is side-by-side with a Defender BYD's Ti7 seven seater SUV will arrive in early 2027 with a starting price of just under £50,000. That's some £21k less than the equivalent DefenderBritain's biggest carmaker's grievance with BYD comes as Chinese brands continue their rapid expansion into major overseas markets, particularly the UK.Over the past two years, British motorists have increasingly turned to cheaper Chinese alternatives to European and Japanese legacy manufacturers, attracted by familiar designs, generous equipment levels and competitive pricing.Across the wider market, more than one in five (21.6 per cent) new cars registered in October were Chinese models.UK motorists have already ordered almost 338,000 vehicles from Chinese brands since the start of the year, accounting for 18 per cent of all registrations so far in 2026.BYD alone has sold almost 75,000 cars in Britain this year, meaning it has accounted for almost one in 25 of the 1.892million new vehicles registered in the first ten months of the year.This is not the first time JLR has taken legal action over alleged cloning.The luxury SUV maker failed in 2020 in its attempt to trademark the shape of the original Defender and block Sir Jim Ratcliffe from launching his 'spiritual successor' 4x4, the Ineos Grenadier, amid claims the vehicle was too similar to the iconic off-roader.However, a year earlier it had secured a landmark victory in China against Jiangling Motor Corporation after a court in Beijing ruled that its Landwind X7 had copied five unique design features of the Range Rover Evoque.JLR's copycat case is being pursued against BYD at the same time that the Chinese firm's luxury subsidiary, Yangwang, unveiled a flagship limousine that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, yet is expected to cost around half as much. CARS & MOTORING: ON TEST