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

On June 22, the strategic partnership between BAIC Foton and ZF bore new fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from the two companies' joint venture plant officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing. The milestone signals that BAIC Foton has secured a key voice in the core components segment of new-energy commercial vehicles, achieving a critical leap from strategic planning to on-the-ground execution.

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 ZF Group Board of Management and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, together with hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder parties, partners and the media, gathered to witness this landmark moment.

01   Aligning with Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is undergoing once-in-a-century 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 around 3.2 million units annually, with the new-energy penetration rate forecast to reach 50% by 2030 and L2+ intelligent driving penetration in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, elevating energy self-reliance to a core national strategy and compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its shift from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

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

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, AxTrax 2 is applicable to both medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential and conventional axle, enabling the electrification of commercial vehicles. The unit that rolled off the line features a silicon-carbide inverter built on a platform of up to 930V, 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, its compact design maximizes available battery packaging space while achieving full synchronization with the vehicle's braking, ADAS and autonomous driving systems — providing an efficient and 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, cooperation between the two sides has deepened continuously. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant has accumulated RMB 20 billion in total sales. With 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 roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle marks a key step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions into the electric drive domain.

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

First, sustain technology leadership. Fully leverage ZF's global technology strengths and BAIC Foton's vehicle-scenario advantages to accelerate the efficient conversion of the electric drive axle 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 and delivery" to "customer profitability."

Third, advance localization and cost efficiency. Rely on the resilience and scale advantages of China's domestic supply chain to speed up parts localization, bringing globally-qualified electric drive axles to customers at a better price-performance ratio, and helping new-energy commercial vehicles transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03   Anchored on the "15th Five-Year Plan," Powering the Green Transition of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical starting point of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass-production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another major achievement of BAIC Foton's three-pillar strategy of "full internationalization, full new-energy transformation, and full intelligentization." Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization and a restructured global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build vertically integrated synergy across core components including batteries, e-drives and electronic controls.

The official commissioning 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 e-drive technology across China's commercial vehicle industry. Looking ahead, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation and unlock efficiency through lean management, propelling new-energy commercial vehicles into a new stage of market-driven growth.