British car manufacturer JLR had digital documents seized at BYD’s European offices in Hoofddorp and Schiedam, the Netherlands. A Dutch court now has to decide whether the documents are admissible in a copyright infringement case against BYD Ti7.
The Ti7 is a BYD model that closely resembles the Land Rover Defender. It is already on sale in China, branded as Fang Cheng Bao Ti7. The Chinese car manufacturer wants to sell the Ti7, dubbed ‘Temu Defender’ by British automotive media, starting next year.
European ban
JLR filed a lawsuit against BYD to prevent the commercialization of BYD’s products in Europe. In the UK, BYD already started pre-sales of the seven-seater model, with a starting price of £47,995.
For comparison: the starting price of the Defender 110 is £64,315 in the UK. That price is for a model with five seats and a diesel engine, while a plug-in hybrid will cost at least £71,840.
According to the British newspaper The Times, JLR suspects BYD has reverse-engineered its model by deconstructing a Defender. The British car manufacturer had the documents that could prove its claim seized by bailiffs so that they couldn’t be destroyed.
The seizure took place in August, but this week a judge in The Hague has to decide whether or not the documents are admissible in JLR’s case. If JLR wins the case, sales of the Ti7 could be banned in the EU.
For JLR, this would be an important win and could also lead to its banning in the UK. Given the lower import duties in the UK than in the EU, the country is a prime target for Chinese car manufacturers. And since the Defender is one of JLR’s bestsellers, the Ti7 could hit where it hurts.
Seven-seat plug-in hybrid
In its press release, BYD describes the design of its Ti7 as having: “An unapologetically boxy profile delivers the imposing, chunky design that finds favor among SUV buyers, yet delivers a contemporary look.” The reality is that it looks a lot like a Defender 110.
But its price tag undercuts the Land Rover model by around £20,000 in the UK. Moreover, BYD is offering very comprehensive equipment. Leather upholstery, acoustic glass, heated and ventilated seats on the second row, a three-zone climate control and even an in-car refrigerator are part of the standard equipment.
If it goes on sale in Europe, the Ti7 will be the first model on the Old Continent to use BYD’s ‘DM-p Super Hybrid’ powertrain. It’s a plug-in hybrid with a turbocharged 1.5-liter petrol engine, paired with an electric motor on the front axle and one on the rear for four-wheel drive.
With a combined power output of 408 hp, the Ti7 sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. The Ti7 is equipped with a 35.6 kWh BYD Blade Battery that offers a substantial electric range of 119 km. This, combined with the price tag and the extensive standard equipment, could hurt JLR sales.s
Long history of Chinese copyright infringement
In the past, much more than is the case today, Chinese manufacturers were infamous for copying existing car designs. Examples include the Zotye SR9 resembling the Porsche Macan, the Zotye T600 resembling the VW Tiguan, and the Changan CS55 resembling the Discovery Sport.
But Chinese manufacturers are rarely found liable. One of the best-known exceptions is the LandWind X7, built by Jiangling Motors (JMC) and sold in China since 2014. JLR won a Chinese court case in 2019, and production and sales had to be stopped, while the British company received 1.5 million RMB in damages.
Blatant copies rarely make it to the European market. Exceptions are the Great Wall Peri, which resembled the Fiat Panda and was banned from European sales in 2008. Sales of the BMW X5 lookalike Shuanghuan CEO never started in Europe because BMW won a court case against the German importer.
It will be interesting to see whether the BYD Ti7 can be added to the list as one of the rare modern-day exceptions that were actually banned.
