Jack Demmer Automotive Group in Wayne, which operates Jack Demmer Ford and Jack Demmer Lincoln, today announced the launch of an autonomous drone delivery program for automotive parts in metro Detroit.
The initiative, supported by a $740,000 grant from Michigan’s Advanced Air Mobility Activation Fund, deploys drones to deliver high-demand parts within a 12-mile radius of the Jack Demmer dealerships.
Representing one of the first commercial drone delivery programs in the U.S. automotive industry, the program partners include Airspace Link in Detroit, Blueflite in Brighton, and multiple state agencies — with support from the Centrepolis Accelerator in Southfield.
The program addresses a persistent logistics challenge for dealerships such as traffic congestion and workforce shortages that delay parts delivery, slow vehicle repairs, and frustrate customers.
Following the successful completion of pilot test flights in the metro Detroit airspace, the partnership is now moving into live commercial operations, with the Ann Arbor–Detroit drone corridor serving as the operational environment.
“From investing in technology to creating a faster, more convenient ownership experience, we’re constantly looking ahead and drone delivery of automotive parts is a natural extension of that commitment,” says Mark Hatfield, parts manager at Jack Demmer Ford.
“This groundbreaking program allows us to move critical parts faster than ever before, helping reduce repair delays, improve efficiency, and get our customers back on the road sooner.”
The Advanced Air Mobility Activation Fund is a collaborative effort between several Michigan agencies, including MDOT, the Michigan Aeronautics Commission, and MEDC. It is designed to create a centralized pipeline of projects that accelerate advanced air mobility readiness and economic growth across the state.
“The Jack Demmer project is exactly the kind of real-world deployment the Advanced Air Mobility Initiative was designed to catalyze,” says Justine Johnson, chief mobility officer of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
“Drone delivery of automotive parts in metro Detroit demonstrates that Michigan’s supply chain strengths and our growing aerial mobility ecosystem are a powerful combination.”
Airspace Link’s AirHub Drone Operations Management System provides the critical infrastructure for the program, managing airspace coordination, real-time operational oversight, and safety compliance across the delivery network.
Airspace Link is an FAA-approved provider of LAANC and B4UFLY services and holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, while Blueflite’s patented tiltrotor UAV platform powers the physical delivery capability by providing long-range autonomous flight, precision navigation, and flexible payload configurations.
The program is expected to generate critical operational data to inform regulatory policy, accelerate industry adoption of drone logistics, and serve as a national model for scaling drone delivery across the automotive sector and beyond.
“Centrepolis exists to enable hard tech innovation to solve real problems for Michigan businesses, and this initiative is a perfect example of what that looks like in practice,” says Dan Radomski, CEO of Centrepolis Accelerator.
Founded in 1957, Jack Demmer Automotive Group is a family-owned organization. For more information, visit jdemmerford.com.
For more information about Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, visit michigan.gov.
