Published : 04/07/2025
Drones are the driving force behind the development of the low-altitude economy. Let's take a closer look at the current state of China's low-altitude economy by exploring the landscape of its leading drone enterprises!
Over 77,000 low-altitude economy companies in China
As of early 2025, the total number of China's low-altitude economy-related enterprises (i.e., those with "drone", "low-altitude tourism", "eVTOL", or "ow-altitude economy" in their name, business scope, or products) reached 77,000.
Among these, scientific research and technical service firms accounted for the largest proportion, with approximately 22,000 companies.
Statistics also show that there are over 300 major drone and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) manufacturing enterprises nationwide, covering the entire chain from R&D, manufacturing, to operation. These are manufacturers with airworthiness-grade products or large-scale commercial scenarios.
Notably, Guangdong Province, Jiangsu Province, Sichuan Province, and Beijing are the four major regions leading in this industry, each creating core manufacturing clusters with significant headquarter aggregation effects.
Guangdong Province, ranking 1st, leads the development with a layout of the entire industrial chain and the effect of leading enterprises gathering. It has as many as 45 drone and eVTOL manufacturing enterprises and over 11,000 low-altitude economy-related enterprises. There are nearly 9,000 companies in its major cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou alone.
China's three drone giants
Speaking of drones, DJI (大疆創新), the global leader in civilian drones, must be mentioned.
Established in 2006 and headquartered in Shenzhen, market data shows that DJI has long been in a monopoly position in major markets such as North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a global market share of consumer-grade drones exceeding 70%.
DJI's core competitiveness comes from its flight control system, imaging technology, and whole-industry chain advantage, with over 4,600 patents.
Another promising direction in the low-altitude economy is the use of eVTOL for passenger transport or logistics.
EHang (億航智能), established in 2014, is a global leader in intelligent autonomous aerial vehicle technology.
In October 2023, EHang's flagship product, the EH216-S unmanned eVTOL aircraft, received the world's first type certificate for an unmanned eVTOL from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
It further obtained an operational certificate in 2025, laying the groundwork for commercial passenger flights.
Phoenix Wings (豐翼科技), a subsidiary of China's major express operator SF Express, is a leader in cargo drones within the low-altitude economy.
Its core advantage is its self-developed cargo drones with nearly 400 patents owned or applied for. Among them, the "Ark 40" model received the first special airworthiness certificate for medium-sized cargo drones from the CAAC, leading in safety and reliability in the industry.
As of the end of 2024, Phoenix Wings has opened over 600 routes, with applications covering medical emergencies, cross-border commerce, and mountain logistics, improving efficiency by over 60% compared to land transportation.
Its cargo drones have flown over 1.1 million flights and transported more than 6.2 million pieces of cargo with a total weight of more than 1,400 tonnes.
Read more: How did China's low-altitude economy grow into an industry worth 1.5 trillion RMB?
Read more: "Air Taxis" becoming a new way of travel?