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Jaguar Land Rover wins case against copycat Land Wind X7

The Range Rover Evoque-inspired model has been pulled from sale, and Landwind will need to pay compensation to the British automaker.


The Beijing Chaoyang District Court has ruled the Land Wind X7 copied five unique features from the first-generation Range Rover Evoque.

According to the court, similarities between the two cars caused confusion amongst consumers.

The court has ordered production, sales and marketing of the Land Wind X7 to stop. It has also said Jaguar Land Rover should be compensated, although a figure has yet to be announced.

The Landwind X7 was launched in 2015, and it was immediately apparent the Chinese company had copied Evoque's exterior and interior designs, if not its mechanical underpinnings.

A facelift introduced in 2017 tweaked the headlights, tail-lights, and bumpers to give the X7 a little more differentiation from the Evoque, but the basic design remained unchanged.

Despite their outward similarity, the X7 retailed for at least half the price of the Range Rover.

Given past cases, many thought Jaguar Land Rover would find it difficult to successfully persue its claim against Jiangling Motor Corporation (JMC), makers of the Landwind marque.

Today's verdict in favour of Jaguar Land Rover was hailed as a first win for a global automaker within the Chinese court system.

"We welcome this decision of the Beijing Court, which further strengthens our confidence in investing in China and in the fairness of intellectual property adjudication in the Chinese courts," Keith Benjamin, Jaguar Land Rover's global legal chief, said in a prepared statement.

"This ruling is a clear sign of the law being implemented appropriately to protect consumers and uphold their rights so that they are not confused or misled, whilst protecting business investment in design and innovation."

JMC currently produces vehicles under its own brands, and also has a joint venture operation with Ford.

The China-only Ford Territory, revealed last year, is based on JMC's Yusheng SM330.

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