A Dutch court has ordered Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to destroy files seized from BYD offices in the Netherlands after the company accused the Chinese manufacturer of copying the design of the Land Rover Defender in the BYD Ti 7. The decision by the court in The Hague requires JLR to hand over the files to a court-appointed bailiff or custodian for destruction within 24 hours of the official service of the decision.
If JLR fails to comply with this obligation within the time limit, the company will be fined 50,000 euros (55,385 US dollars) per hour, with a maximum fine of 500,000 euros (553,850 US dollars). The decision was handed down on November 11 by Judge H.F.R. van Heemstra at the District Court in The Hague (Case No. C/09/713312 / KG ZA 26-1036, ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2026:33114).
The decision, reported by the Dutch automotive publication AutoWeek via the ANP news agency, overturns the seizure of evidence from August, which included internal records taken from BYD offices in Schiedam and Hoofddorp. JLR had requested the seizure after alleging that the BYD Ti 7, sold in China as the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7, copied the exterior design of the Defender, as well as suspicions of reverse engineering.
BYD is represented in Bulgaria by 'ESKO Automotive', which operates a dealer network in the country. The company was founded in 1994 and has locations in Sofia, as part of the official representation of the brand in the country. The brand's representation in the country includes locations in Sofia.