Buyers in America are probably not familiar with the BYD Ti 7. This is a Chinese-made hybrid SUV with a nice, boxy shape and a square painted surface. You probably do know, however, of the Land Rover Defender, which, unlike the BYD, is sold in the United States.
Put the two cars together, and you can see a few similarities. And it looks like these similarities might have prompted Jaguar Land Rover to do something about the BYD. Reports from the UK indicate that JLR requested a court-ordered raid on BYD’s Dutch offices.
This isn’t down to a crazy conspiracy theory either. Because it transpired that BYD actually used a Land Rover Defender in the testing and development of the Ti 7 hybrid SUV. And Land Rover thinks that is why it looks so similar to the Defender, and why they asked for the raid on the offices.
Chinese cars looking very similar to those from the West is nothing new. We’ve probably all seen or heard of a ‘Chinese copy’ car, but in recent times they’ve begun to forge more of their own identity when it comes to design.
This Is What We Know About the BYD Raid
British newspaper The Times reported that a court-ordered raid took place at BYD’s Dutch offices. JLR wanted to find documents that detailed how a Land Rover Defender was used in the development of the BYD Ti 7. That evidence could be important if there were to be a legal case over the similarities between the two cars.
While not available in the United States, the Ti 7 is available in other markets where the Defender also is. And it starts at around $27,000 less than the MSRP of the most affordable version of the Defender. Throw in a plug-in hybrid powertrain and a seven-seat layout, and you start to get why Land Rover was so worried. The Defender as a plug-in hybrid is only available with six seats, and not the seven of its Chinese rival.
This, however, is not the first time that Land Rover has been involved in legal action against another automotive manufacturer. The company was involved in a lawsuit against the producers of the Ineos Grenadier, which, despite going on sale in 2020, looked incredibly similar to the original Defender. Looking at pictures of the current Defender and the BYD vehicle, it is easy to spot the similarities. So that does explain why JLR has gotten nervous about the involvement of their own car during the Chinese car’s testing program.
What Is Going To Happen Next?
What will now need determining is how much the two SUVs actually have in common. Then it will be down to whether or not there is enough evidence to build a winning legal case against BYD on Land Rover’s side. What we do know is that a Dutch court is deciding this week whether BYD has a case to answer over the alleged intellectual property theft that Jaguar-Land Rover is accusing it of.
While there are some differences between the two, the two vehicles are quite similar. The front end of the BYD is similar, with the biggest difference being the lights and grille, but they do look very similar. The lines and proportions of the Ti 7 also look similar to those on the Land Rover. There are, however, plenty of differences, such as the new headlights and the rear of the car.
It could be that Land Rover doesn’t have the evidence it needs to make its case work.