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 bore yet another significant fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle rolled off the production line at their joint venture plant in Jiaxing, marking a critical milestone for BAIC Foton in establishing key influence in the new energy commercial vehicle core components sector and achieving a vital leap from strategic planning to real-world implementation.

The ceremony was attended by distinguished guests including 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 Management and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology divisions, along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholder parties, partners, and media.

01. Aligning with Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently experiencing its most profound transformation in a century, with electrification and intelligent technologies 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 intelligent driving in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical dynamics are reshaping global energy supply chains, elevating energy autonomy to a strategic priority for nations and accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven powertrains.

Based on a deep understanding of 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 based in Jiaxing. After three years of meticulous construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle has officially rolled off the joint venture's production line, transforming this strategic blueprint into reality.

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, enabling the electrification of commercial vehicles. The newly produced unit features a silicon carbide inverter on a maximum 930V platform, delivering continuous output power of 210 kW and peak torque of 26,000 N·m. Equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator, the compact design maximizes battery placement space while achieving full synchronization with the vehicle's braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for commercial vehicle electrification.

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 both parties has continued to deepen. To date, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture plant has accumulated total sales of 20 billion yuan. The Jiaxing base, with its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, is becoming ZF's key manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region. The official roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a critical step in extending the partnership from traditional transmissions to 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 tribute to the project team and all employees who worked tirelessly day and night to overcome challenges. He stated 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 vehicle application scenario strengths, accelerating the efficient conversion of electric drive axle technology from reserves to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value by focusing on core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transportation, accelerating the value conversion from "production delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, advance localization and cost reduction with efficiency improvement, relying on China's resilient industrial chain and scale advantages to accelerate component localization, making world-class electric drive axles more cost-effective for customers, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate their transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

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

Standing at the critical juncture of the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of three major strategies: "comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new energy transformation, 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 levers to build vertically integrated collaborative advantages in core components including batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official launch of AxTrax 2 electric drive axle production 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, unlock efficiency potential through lean management, and propel new energy commercial vehicles toward a new phase driven by market demand.