Jaguar Land Rover: We will do what it takes to combat copycat carmakers
Jaguar Land Rover: We will do what it takes to combat copycat carmakers
Matt OliverSat, November 14, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC
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JLR has taken legal action against BYD over claims that its Ti 7 SUV (pictured) is a copy of the Land Rover Defender
The boss of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has vowed to “do what it takes” to fend off “copycats” as it squares up for a court battle with China’s BYD.
PB Balaji, the JLR chief executive, warned the carmaker would “not accept the infringement of our intellectual property” amid claims that a string of Chinese competitors are aping its style.
JLR has launched legal action against BYD, the world’s biggest electric car manufacturer, over allegations that its new Ti 7 SUV is a copy of the Land Rover Defender.
Other vehicles launched by Chinese carmakers have also invited comparisons with the British marque’s range, garnering social media nicknames such as “Temu Range Rover”, “Land Rover Pretender” and “poor man’s Defender.”
Asked about the recent spate of similar cars, Mr Balaji pointed to JLR’s legal action against BYD.
He said: “Manufacturers like us invest significant time, talent, capital in advancing our designs, in advancing our technologies, and to ensure we differentiate ourselves from the rest of the pack.
“We need to have the ability to protect our IP [intellectual property] and ensure that everybody respects the respective IPs, and we shouldn’t forget that our vehicles are built on decades of heritage, engineering excellence, and of course, the capability and the craftsmanship that these cars execute.
“So we will do what it takes to protect these, and we do not accept the infringement of our intellectual property, and that’s the reason these actions are being taken.”
A Dutch court ordered JLR on Wednesday to destroy evidence it had obtained through raids of BYD’s European offices as part of efforts to turn up proof it had the Defender.
BYD successfully argued that the raids amounted to a “fishing expedition,” with a judge finding that the documents and data were not necessary for JLR’s case.
However, Mr Balaji played down the significance of the ruling as he confirmed JLR would not appeal against it.
The company’s goal, he said, had been to uncover “evidence of BYD’s plans to enter the European market with the Ti 7 – and this has now been disclosed formally”.
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Mr Balaji added: “We have got what we wanted.”
It is understood that JLR has not ruled out further legal action against other manufacturers it also claims have used unscrupulous tactics.
The company warned on Friday that profits would be squeezed amid a sales decline in China.
It is forecasting revenues of £25bn for the 2026/27 financial year, up from £22.9bn the previous year, but said it expected a profit margin of 2-3pc – down from a previous estimate of 4pc.
Sales in China fell by nearly 50pc to 6,100 in the three months to September, compared with a year earlier.
JLR also pointed to £530m in one-off accounting charges, including £295m for the planned voluntary redundancies of some 4,000 staff.
In September, JLR announced it was laying off thousands of people to save on costs.
Mr Balaji warned on Friday of “challenging market conditions” including the risk that the European Union could throw up further barriers to imports of UK-made cars.
Brussels is seeking to pressure the Government to mirror EU trade tariffs and restrictions imposed on Chinese cars.
Along with “rules of origin” regulations, which are due to take effect in January and require UK manufacturers to source a share of components locally, the bloc is also weighing whether to exclude British car makers from its “made in Europe” regime.
This risks potentially locking them out of subsidies and tax breaks that their rivals will receive, a move that executives have warned could make UK-made vehicles uncompetitive.
BYD was approached for comment.
Source: “AOL Money”
