- The former university start-up DJI (大疆) from China now dominates around 70 percent of the global market for commercial and private drones. DJI is also regarded as a leader in terms of quality and reliability.
- There are a few other providers such as XAG (极飞), but they are limited to certain areas of application and do not come close to DJI’s size.
- The largest drone manufacturers in the military sector are the CASC subsidiary Aerospace CH UAV (航天彩虹), AVIC Shenyang Aircraft (中航沈飞), Guizhou Guihang (贵航股份), and Changying Xinzhi (长鹰信质).
- DJI is facing challenges in terms of data protection and security gaps. DJI has also come into the crosshairs of the US authorities, who have scrutinized it for alleged links to Xinjiang and a possible threat to national security. In addition, DJI drone parts were found on the battlefields in Ukraine. In the end, however, DJI was not placed on the US „Entity List“.
- The use of drones has steadily increased. Almost one million drones are now registered in China. By comparison, around 415,000 drones have been registered in Germany. China is at the top of the drone market, while Germany is in fourth place (after the USA and Japan).
- Drones are revolutionizing defence, trade and consumption. They are increasingly being used on battlefields as well as in agriculture, logistics and disaster management. Around 60 percent of all drones are used for civilian purposes and 40 percent for military purposes. Most civilian drones are used in agriculture (31 percent), for geographical mapping (23 percent), for inspections, e.g. of power lines (19 percent), and for surveillance (seven percent).
Sinolytics is a European research-based consultancy entirely focused on China. It advises European companies on their strategic orientation and specific business activities in the People’s Republic.