Applications are organized into the following categories: They include companies involved in drone R&D, drone manufacturing, military uses, and drone services and accessories. So who are the players in the Chinese drone market? Utilizing Chinese-language sources, The China Project has compiled information on the most important drone companies in China. The government wants its drone industry to grow to $27 billion in total output by 2025. It has opened airspace, known as Unmanned Civil Aviation Experimental Zones (UCAEZs), to commercial drone makers like EHang (Nasdaq: EH) - the only publicly listed drone company out of China - to test aerial tourism, aerial firefighting, search and rescue, and more. But the government is increasingly involving itself in the commercial drone sector. in overall arms exports, but it has become the go-to drone dealer for the world.Ĭhinese military drones are produced by state-owned companies, in contrast to consumer drones, whose producers are almost all privately funded. Over the past decade, it has delivered 220 armed drones to 16 countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to the research institute Sipri. (In the U.S., Amazon’s own drone program, known as “Prime Air,” is still in its early testing phase.)Ĭhina is also a major player in the global military drone trade. More than any other country, the drone is latching itself onto the very fabric of China’s economy: Ecommerce giant JD.com, China’s second-largest online retailer, for example, is already integrating its drones with its delivery networks to cover 100 rural villages. Partnerships with various institutions - law enforcement, advertising agencies, energy companies, governments, the military, and technology companies - are now standard among drone companies. The result is a flourishing and highly creative industry sector. China’s drone industry was valued at $67 billion in 2020, up 16% from 2019.ĭJI’s dominance of the consumer segment has forced the thousands of other drone manufacturers in China to fight for survival in the wilderness of commercial applications. In 2017, China produced 2.9 million consumer drones, according to the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, a rise of 67% year-on-year.

But as the market continues to grow, more players will undoubtedly enter. Shenzhen-based DJI commands 70% of the world’s consumer drone market alone. China is the center of this drone boom: Industry estimates place the number of registered companies involved in the drone business at 70,000. Drone applications now range widely from aerial photography and ecommerce deliveries to power line inspection and surveillance.

But in the 2010s, a flood of innovation and investor optimism transformed the drone into entertainment and photography for average consumers, and a useful tool for architects, builders, farmers, filmmakers, game rangers, and many other professionals. Predator, used in Afghanistan to search for Osama bin Laden, was what most people likely thought of when discussing drones. More than 80% of commercial drones in the world are made by Chinese companies, which created the industry: In the early 2000s, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were used mostly by the military.

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