BYD has just received good news in its court battle between Defender and JLR. After JLR raided BYD’s offices in the Netherlands and confiscated documents, a Dutch court has handed BYD an early victory, ordering JLR to destroy the documents or face a fine.
JLR takes BYD to court over its Defender-type SUV
After BYD opened orders for the Ti 7 in Europe and the UK at the end of July, many (including us at electrek) compared it to the iconic Land Rover Defender, with its boxy, rugged (but still stylish) SUV design.
BYD even described it as having “a completely boxy profile” that offers “the imposing, chunky design beloved by SUV buyers, but offers a contemporary look.”
In August, authorities at the British luxury car maker raided BYD’s offices in the Netherlands without warning and seized digital records.
On November 11, a Dutch court in The Hague ruled against JLR and ordered the company to destroy the seized documents, which included launch plans and other technical data, so they would not fall into anyone else’s hands.
JLR must destroy the documents within 24 hours of the ruling or face a fine of 50,000 euros ($55,000) for each hour of delay, with a maximum penalty of up to 500,000 euros ($553,000).
Within 24 hours of its destruction, JLR must also provide BYD with third-party confirmation that it has been destroyed. The court also rejected the British carmaker’s request to pay a fine of 500,000 euros ($553,000).
According Autoweek NetherlandsThe ruling is based on the fact that JLR does not need the documents, pointing out that the Ti 7 has not yet been sold in the European Union.
BYD won the ruling and JLR is prohibited from taking further legal action under the initial seizure order, but JLR has already launched summary proceedings over the infringement in Rotterdam and The Hague.
JLR claims the Ti 7 SUV is a “slavish imitation” and infringes on the intellectual property of the Land Rover Defender and that BYD dismantled the Defender to reverse engineer some of its technology.
Before the raid, BYD claims it fully cooperated with JLR’s requests. Lawyers for BYD called the raid on the British automakers a “fishing expedition” and claimed “too many files were confiscated.”
The Ti 7 is on sale from £47,995 ($64,000) in the UK, on-roads. That’s more than £20,000 ($26,500) less than the plug-in Defender 110, which starts at £71,840 ($95,500) in the UK.
It has a seven-seat configuration, which BYD says was designed specifically for the European and British markets.
As the first vehicle in the UK based on its DM-p (dual-mode performance) powertrain, BYD said the Ti 7 “handily outperforms the closest competition”, seemingly another knock at the Defender.
The setup uses three electric motors and a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, which generates a combined 402 hp (408 PS), allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds.
The motor primarily powers a 35.6 kWh BYD Blade battery, providing a purely electric WLTP driving range of up to 74 miles. In the city, it has an electric range of up to 102 miles.
Available exclusively in the UK with the flagship Excellence AWD model, BYD claims the Ti 7 offers “a level of equipment that surpasses anything its rivals can offer at this price.”
We should soon learn more about the legal battle between BYD and JLR. Please check back for updates as this story is still ongoing.
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