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 achieved another milestone — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture plant in Jiaxing, China. This 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 planning to actual 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 Board of Management of ZF Group and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media gathered to witness this milestone moment.

01. Adapting to Industry Transformation — Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The global automotive industry is currently experiencing unprecedented changes, with the waves of electrification and intelligentization sweeping the world. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to stabilize at around 3.2 million units, with new energy penetration projected to reach 50% by 2030, and L2+ level autonomous driving in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, and energy independence has risen to become a strategic priority for nations worldwide, accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on deep insights 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 meticulous construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle was officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, marking the transformation of this strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and conventional axle to achieve full commercial vehicle electrification. The product that rolled off the line features a silicon carbide inverter on a maximum 930V platform, with continuous output power reaching 210 kW and peak torque of 26,000 N·m. 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-level solution for commercial vehicle electrification transformation.

02. Jiaxing Base Continuously Empowers — 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 been continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture plant has accumulated sales revenue of 20 billion yuan. The Jiaxing base, with its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, 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 is a key step in extending cooperation from the traditional transmission field to the electric drive domain.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-standing care and support for the development of the BAIC Foton and 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 new product roll-off is just the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture:

• First, continue technology leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle application 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 delivery" to "customer profitability."
• Third, promote localization and cost reduction with efficiency improvement by leveraging the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate component localization, making world-class quality electric drive axles more cost-effective for customers, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03. Anchored in 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 roll-off of AxTrax 2 electric drive axles is another important achievement of BAIC Foton's three major strategies of "full internationalization, full new energy transition, and full intelligentization." Facing industry trends of deep integration of electrification and intelligentization, and restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build vertically integrated collaborative advantages in core components including batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official production launch of AxTrax 2 electric drive axles not only provides strong technical support for BAIC Foton's new energy commercial vehicle lineup but also sets a benchmark for the localization of electric drive technology in China's commercial vehicle industry. In the future, the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, explore efficiency through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles toward a new stage of market-driven growth.