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 Friedrichshafen (ZF) bore new fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle produced at the joint venture plant was officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing. This milestone marks BAIC Foton's acquisition of a key voice in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles, achieving a critical leap from strategic layout to implementation. 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 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; Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Group Board of Management and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions; along with hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder parties, partners, and the media, gathered together to witness this landmark moment.

01 | Adapting to Industry Transformation — Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently experiencing unprecedented changes on a scale not seen in a century, with the waves of electrification and intelligentization sweeping the globe. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to stabilize at around 3.2 million units, with the new energy penetration rate projected to reach 50% by 2030, and L2+ level intelligent driving for commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, and energy independence and controllability have been elevated to a core strategic priority for nations, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate the transition from fuel-driven to electric-drive powertrains.

It is precisely based on this deep insight into industry trends that 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 has officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture plant, marking the transformation of this strategic layout from blueprint to reality.

As an integrated electric drive axle platform developed by ZF 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 axles, enabling the electrification of commercial vehicles. The product that rolled off the line features a silicon carbide inverter on a platform with up to 930V, delivering a continuous output power of 210 kW and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. Equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic gear shift actuator, it maximizes battery packaging space through its compact design while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the electrification transformation of commercial vehicles.

02 | Jiaxing Base Continuously Empowering — Joint Venture Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the cooperation between the two parties has been continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant has achieved cumulative sales of 20 billion yuan. Leveraging advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base is becoming an important manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters for ZF in the Asia-Pacific region. The official rollout of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is a key step in extending the cooperation between the two parties from the traditional transmission field to the electric drive field.

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 development of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant. He also paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He stated that the rollout of the new product is only the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture:

First, continue to lead with technology. Fully leverage ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's complete vehicle application scenario advantages 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 logistics and regional transportation, and accelerate the value conversion of products from "delivery off the line" to "customer profitability."

Third, advance localization and cost reduction with efficiency improvement. Rely on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate the localization of components, so that electric drive axles of global quality can benefit customers with better cost-performance ratios, helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate the transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 | Anchoring the 15th Five-Year Plan — Supporting the Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical juncture of the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass production rollout of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another important achievement of BAIC Foton in advancing its three major strategies of "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy, and comprehensive intelligentization." Facing the industry trend of deep integration of electrification and intelligentization and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies as a foothold to build vertically integrated collaborative advantages in core components such as batteries, electric 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 in China's commercial vehicle industry. In the future, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation, tap into efficiency potential through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate toward a new stage of market-driven development.