BAIC Foton and ZF Strategic Partnership Bears Fruit: First AxTrax 2 Electric Drive Axle Rolls Off the Line

On June 22, the strategic partnership between BAIC Foton and ZF Friedrichshafen AG achieved another milestone — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle was officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture plant in Jiaxing. This marks a critical leap from strategic positioning to actual implementation, signifying that BAIC Foton has gained a key voice in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles. 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; Andreas Moser, Member of the Board of Management of ZF Group and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions; along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media, gathered to witness this milestone moment.

01 Embracing Industry Transformation: Strategic Vision Becomes Reality

The automotive industry is currently experiencing unprecedented transformation, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping the globe. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the domestic commercial vehicle market will stabilize at around 3.2 million units, with the new energy penetration rate expected to reach 50% by 2030, and L2+ intelligent driving adoption in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical dynamics are reshaping global energy supply chain patterns, with energy independence becoming a core strategic priority for nations worldwide, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

It is precisely based on this deep insight into industry trends that 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 was officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, marking the transformation of this strategic vision from blueprint to reality.

As an integrated electric drive axle platform developed by ZF for next-generation 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, achieving electrification of commercial vehicles. The product rolled off the line this time is equipped with 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. It features a 3-speed transmission with electronic shift actuator. While its compact design maximizes battery placement space, it achieves 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 Continues to Empower, Joint Venture Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the partnership between the two sides has been continuously deepening. To date, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture plant has achieved cumulative sales revenue 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 rollout of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a key step in extending the partnership from the traditional transmission field into the electric drive domain.

In his address, 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 of the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture plant. He paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He stated that the rollout of the new product is only the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture:

First, sustained technological leadership: fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle application scenario strengths to accelerate the efficient conversion of electric drive axle technology from reserves to commercial delivery.

Second, deepening customer value: focusing on core scenarios such as trunk logistics and regional transportation to accelerate the value conversion from "production delivery" to "customer profitability."

Third, advancing localization and cost reduction with efficiency improvement: relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic supply chain to accelerate component localization, making ZF-quality electric drive axles more cost-effective for customers, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate the transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

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

At this critical juncture marking the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass production rollout of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is yet another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy transformation, and comprehensive intelligentization." Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build vertically integrated collaborative advantages 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. In the future, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, explore efficiency potential through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles toward a new stage of market-driven growth.