Zhongjin: Urban governance drones usher in development opportunities, with vast potential market space.

CICC released a research report stating that with the deepening of the low-altitude economic strategy, drones are reconstructing a new ecological environment for urban governance and services. From assisting in precise law enforcement, solving high-rise fire problems, to empowering real-time environmental monitoring and ensuring smooth emergency communication, drones break the constraints of ground scenes, significantly improving the efficiency of urban operations, and accelerating the digitization and intelligence upgrade of urban governance. It is suggested to focus on investment opportunities generated by the coordinated development of the low-altitude economy and urban security construction strategies. CICC's main points are as follows: Under the dual driving forces of the increasing pressure of urbanization and the upgrading of public social governance demands, urban governance drones have an opportunity for development. With the accelerated urbanization process in China, as of June 2025, the number of motor vehicles exceeds 460 million, leading to serious traffic congestion issues; over a million high-rise buildings bring fire hazards; the growth of floating population also increases the demand for public safety event warnings, increasing the pressure on urban operations. Drones with advantages in high-altitude perspective and flexible rapid deployment are expected to play an important role. The multi-dimensional policy system at the national and local levels empowers drones to support urban security. At the national level, the "National Security Law" establishes a legal foundation, and the Civil Aviation Administration plans to promote its standardized use; at the local level, cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing have also introduced plans in recent years to promote the application of drones in law enforcement, security, and other fields. Urban drones have broad potential market space in security, emergency firefighting, and environmental monitoring scenarios, and the entire industry chain is facing development opportunities. According to CICC's calculations, the potential total market space for urban security scenarios/emergency firefighting and rescue/environmental monitoring scenarios is 9.5/3.6/0.5 billion yuan, totaling 13.6 billion yuan. Considering the annual potential market space of 5.4 billion yuan after depreciation replacement, the space is considerable. From the perspective of the industry chain, core component suppliers in the upstream enhance their capabilities around different scenarios; middle-stream participants show a pattern of "the strong get stronger and the long tail differentiates": leading companies dominate the market with scale and self-developed technology, cross-background companies strive to create synergies, and small and medium-sized manufacturers focus on niche markets; procurement methods evolve from single equipment to scenario-based solutions, with continuously upgraded value. Risks Policy and regulatory risks, data and privacy risks, market competition and commercial risks.