JLR will ‘do what it takes’ to protect IP in battle with BYD over Defender design
JLR’s CEO has said he “does not accept the infringement of our intellectual property” in his first comments over his company’s case against BYD and its Defender-aping Ti7.
The Land Rover manufacturer is pursuing the case in the Netherlands, where BYD’s European headquarters is located, ahead of the sales of the plug-in hybrid Ti7 in Europe.
“Our vehicles are getting built on decades of heritage, engineering, excellence and, of course, the capability and the craftsmanship that these cars execute,” PB Balaji said on a call to journalists. “Therefore we will do what it takes to protect them.”
The Ti7 is one of multiple homages to the Defender in China, where the vehicle is held up as a epitome of what a premium off-roader should look like.
It’s by far the most successful of this new crop of large SUVs. Despite measuring almost five metres long, it has moved into China’s top 10 best-sellers list this year.
The seven-seater starts at £47,995 in the UK, undercutting the equivalent Defender by around £20,000, while offering a 74-mile electric-only range from a 35.6kWh battery pack.
The resemblance to the Defender can be clearly seen in elements such as the body-coloured panel in the rear side window and the impression of a floating roof created by blacking out the door pillars.
JLR started the legal process in August after initially hearing about BYD’s plan to sell the Ti7 here. The company obtained a court order to seize documents from BYD pertaining to its exact sales plan.
BYD complained that the scope of the documents taken was excessive, calling JLR’s actions a “fishing expedition”. A judge agreed and on November 12 ruled that the JLR should return the files and pay BYD legal expenses.
Balaji said the files were no longer needed, given that BYD has now announced sales plans for the Ti7 in Europe. The case is expected to be heard later this month.
In 2019, JLR won a case in China against local manufacturer Landwind, whose X7 was found to be too similar to the Range Rover Evoque.
However, it was unsuccessful its 2020 legal case to stop Ineos from selling the Grenadier on the grounds that it was too close to the original Defender.
Other car makers have been successful in blocking Chinese companies from selling copycat models, including in 2008 when GWM was blocked from bringing its Peri into Europe on the grounds it look too much like the Fiat Panda; and BMW prevented sales of the Shuanghuan SCEO after successfully arguing that it was an X5 clone.
The Ti7 is arguably not the worst of the Defender clones. Even closer in looks is the new BAIC Xingtan 5X, which like the Ti7 comes as a PHEV and an EV in China.
The 4865m-long SUV has been described by media commentators there as a “poor-man’s Defender”, starting at the equivalent of £15,000. Its off-road capabilities are described as “light”.
The Defender costs from the equivalent of £82,500 in China.
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