BAIC Foton and ZF Strategic Partnership Bears New Fruit: First AxTrax 2 Electric Drive Axle Rolls Off the Line

On June 22, the strategic partnership between BAIC Foton and ZF Group delivered another milestone: the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle produced at the two companies' joint venture factory officially rolled off the line in Jiaxing, China. The event marks a decisive step for BAIC Foton in securing a critical voice in the core-component segment of new-energy commercial vehicles, transforming a strategic blueprint into on-the-ground reality.

Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Jiaxing Economic and Technological Development Zone; Chang Rui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of BAIC Group, and Chairman of BAIC Foton; Lu Zhenghua, Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Foton and Chairman of ZF-Foton; and Andreas Moser, Member of the Board of Management of ZF Group and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, joined hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder companies, partners, and the media to witness the historic moment.

01. Riding the Wave of Industry Transformation — Strategic Layout Delivers Results

The global automotive industry is undergoing once-in-a-century change, with electrification and intelligence sweeping across every market. During China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to stabilize at around 3.2 million units annually, with new-energy penetration projected to reach 50% by 2030 and L2+ intelligent driving penetration in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. At the same time, geopolitical competition is reshaping global energy supply chains, elevating energy independence to a national strategic priority and pushing the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its shift from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Guided by this deep understanding of industry trends, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement in April 2023 to introduce ZF's latest electric drive technology into China for the first time, with production based in Jiaxing. After three years of careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle has now officially rolled off the joint venture's production line — turning the strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform for next-generation commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 is applicable to both medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Its modular design replaces the conventional engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, and axle with a single electrified unit. The unit that rolled off the line features a silicon carbide inverter on a high-voltage 930V platform, delivering 210 kW of continuous output power and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. Equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator, the compact architecture maximizes battery packaging space while achieving full synchronization with the vehicle's braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems — providing an efficient, intelligent system-level solution for the electrification of commercial vehicles.

02. Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower — Joint Venture Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the partnership has deepened continuously. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture factory has generated cumulative sales of RMB 20 billion. With its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base has become a key manufacturing, R&D, and functional hub for ZF in the Asia-Pacific region. The official launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle marks a critical step in extending the partnership from conventional transmissions into the electric drive domain.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt thanks to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, the Economic and Technological Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-standing support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture, and paid tribute to the project team and employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He emphasized that the launch of the new product is only "the first step of a long march," and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future:

First, continue to lead with technology. Fully leverage ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle-application scenario strengths, and accelerate the efficient conversion of electric drive axle technology from R&D reserves into commercial deliveries.

Second, deepen customer value. Focus on core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transport, and accelerate the value conversion from "line-off delivery" to "customer profitability."

Third, advance localization and cost reduction. Rely on the resilience and scale of China's domestic supply chain to speed up component localization, so that electric drive axles of global quality can benefit customers at better cost-performance, helping new-energy commercial vehicles shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven" growth.

03. Anchored on the "15th Five-Year Plan" — Powering the Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

At this critical juncture marking the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass-production launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another major achievement in BAIC Foton's push forward with its three core strategies: comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new-energy transition, and comprehensive intelligentization. Facing an industry trend of deep integration between electrification and intelligence, and a restructuring of the global competitive landscape, BAIC Foton is using key technologies as levers to build vertical integration advantages across core components such as batteries, e-drives, and electronic controls.

The official production launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle not only provides strong technical support for BAIC Foton's new-energy commercial vehicles, but also sets a benchmark for the localization of electric drive technology across China's commercial vehicle industry. Looking ahead, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation and unlock efficiency through lean management, accelerating the entry of new-energy commercial vehicles into a new, market-driven phase of development.