Currently, Thailand, as the crossroads of Southeast Asia, is using drone delivery trials as a pivot to drive a dual transformation in logistics and the low-altitude economy. According to the plan released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), in 2025, Bangkok will launch the “Urban Delivery Drone” trial, focusing on testing the delivery capabilities of drones in traffic congestion scenarios. If the trial is successful, Thailand will become the first country in Southeast Asia to achieve regular drone delivery. This will not only boost logistics efficiency but also provide a strategic fulcrum for Chinese enterprises to explore the Southeast Asian market.

The logistics costs in Thailand have remained high for a long time. According to data from the Thai Ministry of Commerce, logistics costs accounted for 14% of GDP in 2023, far exceeding the average level of 10% in developed countries. The introduction of drone delivery will directly address this pain point: in congested cities like Bangkok, drones can compress the “last mile” delivery time from 4 hours to 15 minutes, reducing costs by more than 50%.

This layout will promote the upgrading of Thailand’s low-altitude economy industry. Currently, the Thai market is actively attracting Chinese enterprises to participate in the drone industry chain cooperation. Since 2014, Chinese local drone enterprises have successively carried out agricultural drone operations in Thailand, covering five major crops such as rice and durian. They have also jointly established drone training bases with local universities, cultivating a cumulative number of over 2,000 technical talents. According to the prediction of the Thailand Board of Investment, if drone delivery becomes regular, it is expected that by 2030, the size of Thailand’s low-altitude economy market will exceed $5 billion, driving the coordinated development of fields such as communication, energy, and intelligent manufacturing.

Thailand’s drone trials provide golden opportunities for Chinese enterprises to expand their industries and export their technologies overseas. Thailand’s National Telecom (NT) and Thailand Post have planned test sites and operation plans in Bangkok, focusing on verifying the compatibility of drones with the existing logistics network. 

At the same time, the continuous expansion of the export scale of Chinese drone enterprises is also closely related to the policies between China and Thailand. The target industries of the “Eastern Economic Corridor” (EEC) include aviation, intelligent electronics, automation, and robotics, etc. The development of these industries is closely related to the drone industry, which can provide technical support and market demand for the drone industry. In addition, policies such as tax incentives and the opening of airspace also attract foreign enterprises’ investment, providing a tailwind for drones to “fly” into Thailand.

According to comprehensive data from the General Administration of Customs of China and reports from other institutions, in 2024, China’s export value of complete drones and their components to Thailand reached $320 million, accounting for 18% of the Southeast Asian market. Among them, agricultural plant protection drones account for 53%, and logistics delivery equipment accounts for 31%, making Thailand the core hub for the implementation of Chinese drone technology in Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s drone delivery trials are not only an improvement in logistics efficiency but also an epitome of the digital economic transformation in Southeast Asia. For Chinese enterprises, this is not only a window for technology export but also an opportunity to seize the ASEAN market. With the implementation of the trials, enterprises should take advantage of the policy dividends. Through technical cooperation, talent cultivation, and localized operations, they can gain the upper hand in the wave of the Southeast Asian low-altitude economy.