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 Friedrichshafen bore fresh fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle produced at the two companies' joint venture plant officially rolled off the 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 and represents a critical leap from strategic blueprint to on-the-ground 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 Party Secretary and 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 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 shareholders, partners and the media to witness this milestone moment.

01 | Aligning with Industrial Transformation: Strategic Deployment Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently experiencing a once-in-a-century transformation, with the waves of 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+ intelligent driving penetration in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical maneuvering is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy independence has risen to the strategic core of nations, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its shift from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on this profound insight into industry trends, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement in April 2023, introducing ZF's latest electric drive technology to China for the first time and establishing production in Jiaxing. After three years of careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle has officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, turning this strategic 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, enabling the electrification of commercial vehicles. The product that rolled off the line is equipped with a silicon carbide (SiC) inverter on a platform of up to 930V, delivering continuous output power of 210 kW and peak torque of 26,000 N·m. It features a 3-speed transmission and electronic gear-shifting actuator. While its compact design maximizes the space available for battery placement, it achieves full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the electrification of commercial vehicles.

02 | Jiaxing Base Empowers the Partnership to New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, cooperation between the two parties has continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant has achieved cumulative sales of RMB 20 billion. With its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base has become 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 marks a key step in extending the partnership from the traditional transmission field into the electric drive field.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt thanks to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, the municipal government, the Economic Development Zone and relevant departments for their long-standing care and support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture, and paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome difficulties. He stressed 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:

First, sustain technological leadership — fully leverage ZF's global technology strengths and BAIC Foton's vehicle-scenario advantages, and accelerate the efficient conversion of the electric drive axle from technology reserves into commercial delivery.

Second, deepen customer value — focus on core scenarios such as trunk logistics and regional transportation, and accelerate the value conversion of the product from "roll-off and delivery" to "customer profitability."

Third, advance localization and cost reduction / efficiency improvement — relying on the resilience and scale advantages of China's industrial chain, accelerate the localization of components so that global-quality electric drive axles can benefit customers with better cost-performance, helping new-energy commercial vehicles shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 | Anchored on the "15th Five-Year Plan": Powering the Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the key juncture of the inaugural 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 push of its three major strategies: "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new-energy transition, and comprehensive intelligentization." Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligence, and the restructuring of the global competitive 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 launch of production of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle 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. 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, pushing new-energy commercial vehicles to accelerate into a new stage of market-driven growth.

Source: BAIC Foton Motor Co., Ltd. Official Website