Drone maker DJI plagued by copy cats as price war begins in China’s Shenzhen among makers of hot aerial photography tools

More players are rushing into the market for civilian drones and offering products with similar specs as current market leaders for half the price or less courtesy of cheap manufacturing plants in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, where many of the world’s drone companies are based.

Hundreds of start-ups focused on drones or spin-off industries are located in this former boomtown in Guangdong province opposite Hong Kong including China’s DJI, which now makes up over 70 per cent of the global market for commercial drones.

But many say they have been feeling the pinch for several months as more manufacturers jump into the fray, which has triggered a price war that can only benefit China’s growing army of photography hobbyists - who often start with a smartphone, then buy a selfie stick and later move on to a drone.

The US-based Consumer Electronics Association forecasts the global market for consumer drones will approach US$300 million by 2018.

Scores of companies have been inspired to join this burgeoning industry by the success of DJI, now the world’s biggest maker of consumer and small commercial drones with a market valuation of about US$10 billion.

According to Zhang Jie, CEO of GUAV intelligent technologies company, about 80 per cent of the industry is now concentrated in this teeming industrial Chinese city.

South Holdings sells drones to retailers at US$250 a unit including a camera mount, remote control and high-definition screen. A similar product from DJI costs at least US$700.