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

On June 22, the strategic partnership between BAIC Foton and ZF bore new fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from their joint venture factory officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing. This milestone marks BAIC Foton's acquisition of key voice in the new energy core components field for commercial vehicles, achieving a critical leap from strategic layout to tangible delivery. Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Jiaxing Economic and Technological Development Zone; Chang Rui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, General Manager of BAIC Group, and Chairman of BAIC Foton; Lu Zhenghua, Party Secretary and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Foton and Chairman of ZF Foton; Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Group Board of Directors and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media, gathered together to witness this historic moment.

01 Aligning with Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is experiencing unprecedented transformation, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping the globe. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to stabilize at approximately 3.2 million units, with the new energy penetration rate projected to reach 50% by 2030, and L2+ level intelligent driving adoption reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical dynamics are reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, with energy independence rising to the core of national strategies, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on profound insight into industry trends, in April 2023, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement to introduce ZF's latest electric drive technology to China for the first time, with production based in Jiaxing. After three years of careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture factory, marking the transformation of this strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, and conventional axle to achieve commercial vehicle electrification. The product launched at this ceremony features a silicon carbide inverter on a maximum 930V platform, with continuous output power of 210kW and peak torque of 26,000Nm. Equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator, the compact design maximizes battery placement space while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for commercial vehicle electrification.

02 Jiaxing Base Continuously Empowering, Joint Venture Cooperation Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, cooperation between the two parties has continuously deepened. Currently, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory has achieved cumulative sales of 20 billion yuan. Leveraging advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base is becoming ZF's important manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region. The official roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a critical step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions into the electric drive domain.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, the Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-standing care and support for the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory. He paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He stated that the new product roll-off is only the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, continue technology leadership — fully leverage ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle scenario strengths to accelerate the efficient conversion of electric drive axles from technology reserves to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value — focus on core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transportation, accelerating the value conversion from "roll-off delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, advance localization and cost reduction — rely on domestic supply chain resilience and scale advantages to accelerate component localization, making ZF-quality electric drive axles more cost-effective for customers, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate their transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 Anchoring the 15th Five-Year Plan, Empowering Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical juncture of the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents yet another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy, and comprehensive intelligentization." Facing the industry trend of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build vertical integration synergy advantages in core components including batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official launch of AxTrax 2 electric drive axle production 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 in China's commercial vehicle industry. In the future, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, explore efficiency through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate toward a new stage of market-driven growth.