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 delivered another milestone result — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle produced at the two companies' joint venture plant officially rolled off the line in Jiaxing. The event signals that BAIC Foton has secured a key voice in the field of new-energy core components for commercial vehicles, achieving a critical leap from strategic layout to real-world implementation. Guests including 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; and Andreas Moser, Member of the Board of Management of ZF Group and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, joined hundreds of representatives from government, both shareholder parties, partners and the media to witness the milestone.

01   Following the Tide of Industrial Transformation: Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is today undergoing changes unseen in a century, as the waves of electrification and intelligentization sweep 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+ intelligent driving penetration in commercial vehicles to reach 30%. At the same time, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy independence has been elevated to a strategic priority for nations — compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on a profound reading of 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 sited in Jiaxing. After three years of careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle has now officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, turning that strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform engineered for next-generation commercial vehicles, AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Its modular architecture replaces the engine, transmission, propeller shaft, differential and conventional axle to achieve full commercial vehicle electrification. The unit launched at this event carries a silicon carbide inverter operating on a platform of up to 930 V, delivering continuous output power of 210 kW and peak torque of 26,000 N·m, and is paired with a three-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator. Its compact design frees maximum packaging space for the battery pack while achieving complete synchronization with the vehicle's braking, ADAS and autonomous driving systems — providing an efficient, intelligent system solution for the electrification transition of commercial vehicles.

02   Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower: Joint Venture Cooperation Reaches a New Level

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 recorded cumulative sales of RMB 20 billion. Equipped with advanced production systems and intelligent manufacturing equipment, the Jiaxing base is becoming a key 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 decisive step in extending the partnership from conventional 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 for and support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant, and paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome difficulties. He noted that the roll-off of a new product is only the first step of a long march, and set out three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, sustain technological leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology strengths and BAIC Foton's vehicle-level scenario advantages, accelerating the efficient conversion of the electric drive axle from technology reserves into commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value by closely tracking core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transportation, speeding up the value conversion from "roll-off and delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, advance localization, cost reduction and efficiency gains by relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain, accelerating component localization so that electric drive axles of global quality benefit customers at superior value for money — helping new-energy commercial vehicles accelerate their shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03   Anchoring the "15th Five-Year Plan": Powering the Green Transition of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the opening milestone of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass-production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another important outcome of BAIC Foton's three core strategies — full internationalization, full new-energy transition and full intelligentization. Facing industry trends in which electrification and intelligentization are deeply converging and the global competitive landscape is being restructured, BAIC Foton is using key technologies as its lever to build a vertically integrated synergy advantage across core components including batteries, electric drive and electronic control.

The official start of production of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle not only provides robust technical support for BAIC Foton's new-energy commercial vehicles, but also sets a benchmark for the localization of electric 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, market-driven phase.