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 Friedrichshafen AG achieved another milestone — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from their joint venture factory officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing. This event marks BAIC Foton's acquisition of a critical voice in the new energy commercial vehicle core components sector, representing a key leap from strategic planning to concrete implementation. Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Jiaxing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee; Chang Rui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of BAIC Group, 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 ZF Group Board of Management and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions Division and Industrial Technology Division; along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media gathered to witness this landmark moment.

01 Aligning with Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Yields Results

The automotive industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented transformation, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping the globe. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China's 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 autonomous driving reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, and energy independence has been elevated to a strategic priority for nations worldwide, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on a profound understanding of 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 based 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 factory, marking the realization of this strategic blueprint.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, the 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 commercial vehicle electrification. The product that rolled off the line features a silicon carbide inverter on a maximum 930V platform, delivering a continuous output power of 210 kW and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. Equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic gearshift actuator, it maximizes battery space through its compact design while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the electrification transformation of commercial vehicles.

02 Jiaxing Base Continuously Empowers, Joint Venture Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the cooperation between the two parties has been continuously deepening. Currently, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory has achieved cumulative sales 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 launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a critical step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions to electric drive technology.

In his speech, 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 BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory. He paid tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He stated that the launch 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, continue to drive technological leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle application scenario advantages, accelerating the efficient transformation 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 transformation from "production delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, promote localization and cost reduction by relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic supply chain, accelerating parts localization to make globally-qualified electric drive axles more cost-effective for customers, helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 Anchored on 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 launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another important achievement of BAIC Foton's three major strategies of "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy, and comprehensive intelligentization." Facing the industry trend of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization 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 including batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official production launch 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. In the future, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, unlock efficiency potential through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate toward a new stage of market-driven development.