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 achieved another milestone — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle rolled off the production line at the joint venture plant in Jiaxing. This event marks BAIC Foton's acquisition of a key voice in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles, realizing a critical leap from strategic planning to execution. 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 Directors and Head of the 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 milestone moment.

01 Adapting to Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is experiencing changes unseen in a century, with electrification and intelligence 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 in commercial vehicles to reach 30%. At the same time, geopolitical maneuvering is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy independence has been elevated to a strategic core for nations, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition 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 located in Jiaxing. After three years of careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, marking the transformation of this strategic blueprint into 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 rolled off the line is equipped with a silicon carbide inverter on a maximum 930V platform, delivering a continuous output of 210 kilowatts and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. Featuring a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator, its compact design maximizes battery placement space while achieving full synchronization with the vehicle's 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 continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture plant has accumulated sales of 20 billion yuan. With its 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 critical step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions to 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 plant. He 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, maintain continuous technological leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's complete vehicle scenario strengths, accelerating the efficient conversion of electric drive axles from technology reserves to commercial delivery;

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

Third, promote localization and cost reduction with efficiency gains, relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate component localization, enabling electric drive axles of global quality to benefit customers with better cost-performance ratios, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate the transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 Anchoring the "15th Five-Year Plan", Supporting 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: "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy, and comprehensive intelligence." Facing the industry trend of deep integration of electrification and intelligence, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build a vertically integrated synergy advantage 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 cost revolution through technological innovation and explore efficiency through lean management, pushing new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate toward a new stage of market-driven growth.