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Parcel delivery giant SF Express has been at the forefront of testing large unmanned aerial vehicles in China to carry more goods over a longer distance than smaller delivery drones. Photo: Handout
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China’s drone industry crosses US$14-billion mark in annual output in 2022 amid local market expansion into low-altitude logistics

  • The drone industry’s annual output reached US$16.5 billion last year, up more than 34 per cent from US$12.3 billion in 2021
  • The number of drone-related enterprises in the country reached more than 15,000 at the end of 2022, a 25 per cent increase from 12,000 a year earlier
Drones
Ben Jiang
Ben Jiangin Beijing
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China’s drone industry crossed the 100-billion yuan (US$14 billion) mark for the first time last year, as market expansion into areas such as low-altitude logistics helped drive domestic demand.
The industry’s annual output reached 117 billion yuan last year, up more than 34 per cent from 87 billion yuan in 2021, according to Yang Jincai, chairman of the Shenzhen Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Association, in his presentation at the 7th Drone World Congress that was held from June 2 to 4, 2023, in Shenzhen.

Drone-related enterprises in the country surged to more than 15,000 at the end of last year, a 25 per cent increase from 12,000 in 2021, according to a report on the event by sznews.com, which is affiliated with the state-backed Shenzhen Press Group.

Registered drones across the country, meanwhile, totalled 95,000 in 2022, the report said.

Yang Jincai, chairman of the Shenzhen Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry Association, presents the latest domestic market data at the 7th Drone World Congress that was held from June 2 to 4, 2023, in Shenzhen. Photo: SCMP

The industry has expanded in recent years, thanks to a combination of factors.

Those include a lockdown-induced, no-contact delivery trend that deployed unmanned drones during the Covid-19 pandemic; Beijing’s policy to boost adoption of low-altitude logistics nationwide; and increased competition among domestic courier giants to use drones for parcel deliveries amid rising labour costs.
That growth also underscored the industry’s resilience in the face of US trade sanctions, which included the blacklisting of DJI Technology Co – the world’s largest maker of consumer drones – in October 2022.

Still, southern tech hub Shenzhen – home to DJI – saw the number of drone companies based in the city decrease to 1,300 last year, down from 1,500 in 2021. These firms’ total output last year, however, climbed to 75 billion yuan, compared to 60 billion yuan a year earlier.

Growing drone force boosts China’s surveillance and reach in sky and sea

Shenzhen accounted for more than 70 per cent of the world’s consumer drones and 50 per cent of industrial drones as of the middle of last year.

Beijing’s plans to shore up the country’s transport network paved the way for developing a strategy to make use of low-altitude airspace. In 2022, the Civil Aviation Administration’s 14th Five-Year plan to develop aviation logistics promoted the deployment of delivery drones to build up the country’s logistics infrastructure.

Chinese Big Tech companies including e-commerce services provider JD.com, food delivery giant Meituan and logistics firm SF Express currently lead unmanned vehicle delivery programmes in the country.
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