BONN/ GUANGZHOU: May 16, 2019. DHL Express and drone manufacturer EHang have partnered to launch a fully automated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) delivery solution for last-mile delivery in urban areas of China.

The EHang Falcon smart drone, which can carry up to five kilos per flight, takes off and lands on intelligent cabinets that were developed for the fully autonomous loading and offloading of shipments.

The drone operates an eight kilometres route between a customer’s facility and a DHL service center in Liaobu, Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The company claims it is the first international express company to provide such a service in China.

The result is a cut in delivery time from 40 minutes to eight and an 80 percent reduction in costs plus carbon emissions compared to a truck.

“Together with DHL we are very glad to bring the first smart drone delivery service route to China in Guangzhou; this marks a new beginning in building air logistics for smart cities,” declared EHang founder H Huazhi. “Riding on today’s launch, we expect smart drone delivery as an innovative logistics solution to be expanded and realized in more areas, and we look forward to working with DHL in building the eco-system for a multi-dimensional urban air transport system.”