Meituan’s Drone Delivery Infrastructure Goes Into Commercial Service

Earlier this month, I published an in-depth report on Meituan’s meal delivery by drone (chinadigitalretailrepor…). Today, Yicai shared some interesting news on the latest developments in Meituan's drone logistics. A summary:

Meituan said the drone delivery infrastructure it has built is no longer in the testing stage and has gone into commercial operation.

Drone delivery orders have been rising over the past five years, especially after the company launched services at night and in the rain. The number of orders a single site can handle has risen from about 10 a day to as many as 400 now. By the end of last year, its drones had 70 routes in cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Dubai, with cumulative orders exceeding 780,000.

Equipment, battery, energy use, and site rental costs are all falling as order volumes and flight efficiency improve. Operating costs per order have been dropping by roughly 40 per cent to 50 per cent each year.

Meituan’s low-altitude delivery services are mainly used when land transport is difficult, such as for the delivery of medical samples.

Meituan is also opening its low-altitude logistics solutions to authorised partners, enabling them to support a broader range of delivery scenarios. The company has signed deals with 10 service providers so far.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle are likely to emerge as China’s three leading hubs for commercial low-altitude logistics, with explosive growth this year and next. The rapid growth of low-altitude logistics will depend not only on policy support and faster technological upgrades but also on the development of additional application scenarios.

This new sector still faces major hurdles: urban airspace approval, flight safety, noise, and the risk of falling objects all require clearer regulatory rules.

Source: Yicai (yicaiglobal.com/news/me…)