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 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, marking a key leap for BAIC Foton in gaining a critical voice in the core components segment of new-energy commercial vehicles and achieving the transition from strategic layout to real-world 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, 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 Directors and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, joined hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder parties, partners and the media to witness this milestone moment together.

01  Aligning with Industry Transformation: Strategic Planning Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is experiencing a once-in-a-century transformation, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping across 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, with new-energy penetration projected 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, and energy self-reliance has risen to a strategic priority for nations worldwide, accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's shift from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on a profound 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 careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, signaling that this strategic blueprint has become 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 architecture replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential and conventional axle to achieve the electrification of commercial vehicles. The product rolled off today features a silicon carbide inverter on a platform of up to 930V, delivering continuous output power of 210 kW and peak torque of 26,000 N·m, paired with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator. While its compact design maximizes battery packaging space, it is fully synchronized with the vehicle's braking, ADAS and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the electrification of commercial vehicles.

02  Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower: 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–ZF transmission joint venture plant has accumulated sales revenue of RMB 20 billion. 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 roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a key step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions into 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 longstanding care and support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant, and paid tribute to the project team and all employees 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 journey, and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, sustain 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 axle technology reserves into commercial deliveries.

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, advance localization and cost efficiency by relying on the resilience and scale advantages of China's domestic supply chain, accelerating component localization, and bringing world-class electric drive axles to customers at greater value for money, helping new-energy commercial vehicles accelerate their shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03  Anchoring the 15th Five-Year Plan: Driving Green Transformation in Commercial Vehicles

At this pivotal juncture marking the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the mass production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another important achievement of BAIC Foton in advancing its three major strategies of "full internationalization, full electrification and full intelligentization." Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies as a foothold to build a vertically integrated synergy advantage in core components such as batteries, electric 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 electric drive technology in China's commercial vehicle industry. Looking ahead, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation and unlock efficiency through lean management, propelling new-energy commercial vehicles into a new stage of market-driven growth.