BAIC Foton and ZF Strategic Cooperation Bears Fruit Again: First AxTrax 2 e-Drive Axle Rolls Off Production Line

On June 22, BAIC Foton and ZF once again achieved a milestone in their strategic cooperation — the first AxTrax 2 e-drive axle rolled off the production line at their joint venture factory in Jiaxing. This marks a critical step for BAIC Foton in gaining a decisive voice in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles, transforming strategic布局 into tangible results. 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, Vice President of BAIC Foton and Chairman of ZF Foton; Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Board of Management and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions; along with hundreds of distinguished guests from government, shareholders, partners, and the media gathered together to witness this milestone moment.

01 Responding to the Trend of Industrial Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a transformation of unprecedented magnitude, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping across the globe. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period (2026-2030), 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 intelligent driving for commercial vehicles expected to reach 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, making energy autonomy a strategic priority for nations worldwide, forcing the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven systems.

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 e-drive technology to China for the first time, with production to be established in Jiaxing. After three years of meticulous construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle has officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture factory, marking the transformation of this strategic layout from blueprint to reality.

As an integrated e-drive axle platform developed by ZF for the next generation of commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces engines, transmissions, drive shafts, differentials, and conventional axles to achieve commercial vehicle electrification. The product launched this time is equipped with a 930V platform silicon carbide inverter, delivering a continuous output power of 210 kW and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. It features a 3-speed transmission with an electronic shift actuator. While its compact design maximizes battery layout 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 Cooperation Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the cooperation between the two parties has continued to deepen. To date, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory has achieved cumulative sales of 20 billion RMB. With its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base is becoming an important manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters base for ZF in the Asia-Pacific region. The official rollout of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle represents a critical step in extending the cooperation between the two parties from the traditional transmission field to the e-drive domain.

In his speech, Lu Zhenghua expressed sincere gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal Government, the Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-term care and support for the development of the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory, and paid high respect to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He noted that the new product launch is just the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture:

First, continue to lead in technology, fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle scenario advantages to accelerate the efficient transformation of e-drive axles from technology储备 to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value, closely focus on core scenarios such as trunk logistics and regional transportation, and accelerate the value transformation of products from "production line delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, promote localization and cost reduction, relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate parts localization, so that global-quality e-drive axles can benefit customers at more competitive prices, helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

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

Standing at the critical juncture of the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass production of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle is another significant achievement of BAIC Foton's three major strategies: "Comprehensive Internationalization, Comprehensive New Energy Transformation, and Comprehensive Intelligentization." Facing the industry trends of deep integration of electrification and intelligentization, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is taking key technologies as its starting point, building vertically integrated协同 advantages in core components such as batteries, e-drives, and electronic controls.

The official production launch of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle not only provides strong technological support for BAIC Foton's new energy commercial vehicles but also sets a benchmark for the localization of e-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, explore efficiency space through lean management, and accelerate the transition of new energy commercial vehicles into a new stage driven by market forces.