DJI suspends operations in Russia and Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western multinational companies have withdrawn from the Russian market one after another, and DJI, a well-known Chinese drone brand, has also been at the center of the storm.

Initially, many people overseas questioned whether DJI's drone products were used in wars; the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine also publicly accused DJI on social media platforms; subsequently, Germany's largest electronics retailer MediaMarket announced that it would remove DJI-related products from its shelves.

DJI’s repeated public responses fell on deaf ears . On April 26, DJI announced that it would suspend its operations in Russia and Ukraine.

Many overseas people questioned DJI, which was pushed to the forefront

Recently, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov posted an open letter on Twitter claiming that the Russian military used DJI products to navigate missile attacks on Ukraine, and called on the company to stop doing business in Russia until the violence stops.

On April 26, DJI Innovations Technology released a statement on its official website that the company is re-evaluating the sales compliance requirements of its global business. During the review period, DJI will suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine. Currently, it is communicating with customers, partners and other stakeholders about suspending business operations in the affected areas.

Regarding the suspension of some business operations, DJI PR Director Xie Tiandi also made additional explanations on his Weibo, saying that the company is reviewing the compliance risks of its global business, which is a self-examination of its own compliance in accordance with the requirements of various countries' laws and regulations, including China's export control law. During the review period, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine.

DJI has been controversial since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and has long been at the center of overseas social media opinion. Many media reports claim that both Russia and Ukraine used DJI's drone products to participate in military operations . DJI has repeatedly denied these allegations and stated that their drone products are designed for civilian use and do not meet military specifications.

Under pressure from public opinion, Germany's largest electronics retailer MediaMarket removed DJI's drone products from its shelves on March 27. DJI said that the German MediaMarket Retail Group has been a long-time partner of DJI and one of the victims of this cyber violence incident. For safety reasons, MediaMarket has suspended the sale of DJI drones in its e-commerce and stores.

In response to questions from many overseas parties, DJI Innovations Technology also issued a statement on April 21, saying that its products are designed to improve people's lives and benefit the world, and absolutely condemns any use of its products to cause harm. DJI emphasizes that it only produces civilian products and they are not designed for military applications.

In addition, DJI stated that unless the user actively submits it, DJI cannot obtain user information and flight data. Therefore, DJI does not have the ability to identify and verify the user's location, nor does it hold data that can be used to participate in war.

DJI said that they take compliance issues very seriously and are committed to acting in accordance with sanctions, export controls and other applicable laws and regulations. DJI has a dedicated internal compliance team and experienced US and European external consultants to ensure that their business actions and transactions are in full compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

DJI was caught up in the controversy of foreign media, largely because of its drone products. Drones seem to play an important role in modern warfare, and DJI is the leading brand in the field of drones. Regardless of whether DJI is right or wrong in this controversy, its achievements in the field of drones are unmatched.

After 16 years of deep research in drones, DJI has become an industry giant

Shenzhen DJI Innovations Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and has now developed into a leader in technology, imaging and education solutions in the era of spatial intelligence. Since its establishment, DJI's business has expanded from drone systems to a diversified product system, becoming a global leading brand in drones, handheld imaging systems, robot education, intelligent driving and other fields.

Currently, DJI has 14,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its headquarters in Shenzhen, it has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Rotterdam, Frankfurt and other places, supporting a sales and service network in more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

From the perspective of business trajectory, DJI is different from many Chinese companies that first establish themselves in the domestic market and then "go global". DJI focused on overseas markets from the beginning. It can be said that DJI first gained recognition in the European and American markets before returning to China.

Affected by the epidemic, DJI, which had been hampered in offline sales, also began to deploy cross-border e-commerce channels. According to preliminary statistics, DJI has entered many cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Newegg, etc. Through multi-market and multi-channel layout, DJI quickly completed the process of internationalization of its operations.

The growth of DJI brand is also inseparable from the rapid development of the global drone market. In recent years, the drone industry has developed rapidly and is widely used in many fields such as personal consumption, agricultural and forestry plant protection, geographic surveying and mapping, environmental monitoring, power line inspection, film and television aerial photography, etc.

According to Yi Enjun, the current drone market can be divided into civil and military applications, and can be further divided into two categories: consumer drones and industrial drones. Consumer drones are aimed at ordinary consumers and are mainly used for personal aerial photography and entertainment; industrial drones have a wider range of applications and require customized system settings and professional operation. They can be used in agriculture, forestry, plant protection, logistics, security, patrol and other fields.

At present, the development of China 's civil drone market has become increasingly mature . Driven by the rapid growth of industry application scenario demand, the scale of the industry will continue to expand. It is estimated that by 2022, the output value of China's civil drones will reach about 30 billion yuan. At the same time, according to a report by Drone Industry Insights, a German drone research company , the global drone market is expected to reach 42.8 billion US dollars by 2025 .

DJI has been established for 16 years and has developed into a giant in the drone industry, creating a brand that is well-known both at home and abroad. It can be said that DJI has almost monopolized the global drone market. In China, its products account for more than 70% of the market share, and globally, DJI accounts for more than 80%. Among civilian drone companies, DJI has long been at the top of the list.

With the continuous improvement and progress of technology , the drone industry is still a promising sunrise industry. The drone market still has more personalized and intelligent demands waiting for manufacturers to explore in depth . As a leading brand in the industry, DJI's future development in the drone field is still worth looking forward to.

DJI

Russo-Ukrainian War