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 joint venture factory officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing, marking a critical leap for BAIC Foton in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles. This milestone signifies that BAIC Foton has gained key influence over core electrification technologies, transitioning from strategic planning to tangible execution. 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; and Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Group Board of Directors and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Division, along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media, gathered together to witness this landmark moment.

01 | Aligning with Industry Transformation: Strategic Planning Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is undergoing its most profound transformation in a century, with electrification and intelligentization 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 new energy penetration projected to reach 50% by 2030 and L2+ level autonomous driving for commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy self-sufficiency has risen to the core of national strategies, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-drive powertrains.

Based on this profound insight into 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 careful construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle has 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, with continuous output power reaching 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 vehicle 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 Cooperation Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, cooperation between the two sides has continuously deepened. To date, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory has accumulated sales revenue of 20 billion RMB. With 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 represents a critical step in extending the partnership from conventional transmissions to electric drive technology.

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 for the joint venture factory's development. He paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked 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, continue to lead with technology — fully leverage ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's complete vehicle application scenario strengths to accelerate the efficient conversion of electric drive axles from technology reserves to commercial delivery.

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

Third, promote localization and cost reduction — rely on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate component localization, enabling world-class electric drive axles to benefit customers with better cost-performance ratios, and help new energy commercial vehicles accelerate their transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 | Anchoring the 15th Five-Year Plan: Driving Green Transformation in Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical starting point 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 leveraging key technologies to build vertically integrated collaborative advantages 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 joint venture factory will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation, tap into efficiency potential through lean management, and propel new energy commercial vehicles toward a new stage of market-driven growth.