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

On June 22, the strategic cooperation between BAIC Foton and ZF Group bore fresh fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from the two companies' joint venture plant officially rolled off the production line in Jiaxing, signaling that BAIC Foton has secured a key voice in the core components segment of new energy commercial vehicles and achieved a critical leap from strategic planning to on-the-ground execution. Also present were Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the 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 Committee Secretary and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Foton and Chairman ofZF Foton; and Andreas Moser, Member of the Board of Management of ZF Group and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Division and Industrial Technology Division, together with hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder sides, partners, and the media, jointly witnessing this milestone moment.

01 Aligning with Industry Transformation, Strategic Positioning Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is undergoing once-in-a-century upheaval, with the waves of electrification and intelligence sweeping the globe. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's 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+ intelligent driving adoption in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. At the same time, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy self-reliance has become a core national strategy in many countries, accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's shift from fuel-driven to electric-drive powertrains.

Based on a profound insight into these industry trends, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement in April 2023 to introduce ZF's latest electric drive technology into China for the first time, with production localized 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, transforming this strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform built for the next generation of commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 is applicable to both medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and conventional axle to enable the electrification of commercial vehicles. The unit that rolled off the line this time is equipped with a silicon carbide (SiC) inverter on a platform of up to 930V, delivering 210 kW of continuous output and 26,000 N·m of peak torque, paired with a 3-speed transmission and an electronic shift actuator. Its compact design maximizes available space for battery packaging while achieving full synchronization with the vehicle's braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the electrification 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, cooperation between the two sides has continued to deepen. 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 is becoming a key 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 critical step in extending the two companies' cooperation from the traditional transmission segment into the electric drive domain.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed sincere gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, the municipal government, the Economic and Technological Development Zone, and relevant departments for their longstanding care and support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant, and paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He noted that the roll-off of the new product is only the first step of a long march, and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, sustain technological leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology strengths and BAIC Foton's vehicle-platform and application-scenario advantages, accelerating the efficient conversion of the electric drive axle from technology reserves to commercial deliveries;

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

Third, advance localization and cost reduction with efficiency gains, relying on the resilience and scale advantages of China's domestic supply chain to accelerate component localization, so that world-class electric drive axles can benefit customers with better cost-performance ratios, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate the shift from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

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

At this critical juncture — the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan — the mass production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is yet another major achievement in BAIC Foton's pursuit of its three key strategies: full internationalization, full new energy transition, and full intelligence. Facing an industry trend of deep integration between electrification and intelligence, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is using key technologies as levers to build a vertically integrated synergy advantage across core components including 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. Looking ahead, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive a cost revolution through technological innovation, unlock efficiency through lean management, and push new energy commercial vehicles to accelerate into a new stage of market-driven growth.