BYD Dutch offices reportedly searched in JLR Defender intellectual property dispute

Bailiffs reportedly seized digital records from BYD offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp in August 2026 as Jaguar Land Rover pursued allegations involving its Defender. The Guardian, citing the Sunday Times on 8 November, said a hearing in The Hague was scheduled that week to determine whether BYD had a case to answer over alleged intellectual property infringement involving its Ti7 SUV.

JLR suspected BYD had reverse-engineered technology potentially intended for the Ti7 and sought to preserve records, the report said. Both companies declined to comment on ongoing proceedings. The seven-seat plug-in hybrid was scheduled for a January UK launch at £47,995, compared with a starting price of £68,465 for JLR’s seven-seat Defender 110.

The dispute sits alongside both litigation and cooperation in JLR’s dealings with Chinese manufacturers. The report noted that JLR won a 2019 case stopping Jiangling Motor Corporation from selling a copycat vehicle, while a separate partnership with Chery, established in 2012, later included licensing JLR’s discontinued Freelander brand.