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. The event 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 layout 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, General Manager of BAIC Group, and Chairman of BAIC Foton; Lu Zhenghua, Party Secretary and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Foton and Chairman ofZF Foton; and Andreas Moser, Member of the Management Board of ZF Group 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 jointly witness this milestone moment.

01 · Following the Tide of Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently experiencing a once-in-a-century transformation, with the waves of electrification and intelligence sweeping across 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 reaching 30%. At the same time, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy autonomy has been elevated to a core national strategy, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven power.

Based on a profound insight into these 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 established 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 layout has turned from blueprint into reality.

As an integrated electric drive axle platform developed by ZF for the next generation of commercial vehicles, AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, and conventional axle to achieve the electrification of commercial vehicles. The product launched this time is equipped with a silicon-carbide inverter on a platform of up to 930V, delivering a continuous output power of 210 kW and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m, and features a 3-speed transmission with an electronic shift actuator. While its compact design maximizes the space available for battery placement, it achieves 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 · The Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower, Joint Venture Cooperation Reaches a New Level

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture company in Jiaxing in 2017, cooperation between the two sides has continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant has achieved cumulative 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 roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is a key step in extending the two parties' cooperation from the traditional transmission field into the electric drive field.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, the municipal government, the Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-standing care and support for the development 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 the new product is only the first step of a long march, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture company:

• First, sustained technological leadership. Fully leverage ZF's global technological advantages and BAIC Foton's strengths in complete-vehicle application scenarios to accelerate the efficient conversion of the electric drive axle from technology reserves to commercial delivery.
• Second, deepening customer value. Keep a close focus on core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transportation, and accelerate the value conversion of the product from "roll-off and delivery" to "customer profitability."
• Third, advancing localization and cost reduction with efficiency gains. Rely on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate the localization of components, so that electric drive axles of global quality can benefit customers with better value for money, helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate their shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 · Anchoring the "15th Five-Year Plan," Supporting the Green Transition of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical juncture of the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass-production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is yet another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies of "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy, and comprehensive intelligence." Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligence and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is using key technologies as a lever to build a vertically integrated collaborative advantage in core components such as batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official start of production 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. Going forward, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation and unlock efficiency through lean management, pushing new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate toward a new stage driven by the market.