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 core components of new energy commercial vehicles, transitioning from strategic layout to tangible execution. Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the 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, Party Secretary and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Vice President of BAIC Foton and Chairman of ZF Foton; Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Group Board of Management and Head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions, along with hundreds of guests from government, shareholders, partners, and media, gathered together to witness this milestone moment.

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

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a transformation of a magnitude not seen in a century, with electrification and intelligence sweeping across 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 intelligent driving for commercial vehicles to reach 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global energy supply chain, making energy self-sufficiency a strategic priority for nations, and forcing the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate the transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven systems.

Based on this deep insight into industry trends, 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 based in Jiaxing. After three years of meticulous construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture factory, turning this strategic blueprint into reality.

As an integrated e-drive axle platform developed by ZF for the next generation of commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 is designed for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces engines, transmissions, drive shafts, differentials, and conventional axles, realizing full electrification of commercial vehicles. The product features a 930V silicon carbide inverter, delivering a continuous output power of 210 kW and a peak torque of 26,000 N·m. It is equipped with a 3-speed transmission and an electronic shift actuator. While its compact design maximizes battery layout space, it also 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.

02Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower, Cooperation Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established a joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, their cooperation 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 marks a key step in extending the cooperation between the two parties from the traditional transmission field to the e-drive field.

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 longstanding support of the development of the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory, and paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked tirelessly day and night to overcome challenges. He noted that the launch 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, continue to lead in technology, fully leveraging ZF's global technological advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle application strengths to accelerate the efficient transformation of the e-drive axle from technology reserve to product delivery;

Second, deepen customer value, focusing on core scenarios such as long-haul logistics and regional transportation to accelerate the value transformation from "offline delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, promote localization and cost reduction, leveraging the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic supply chain to accelerate the localization of components, making globally competitive e-drive axles available to customers at better value, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

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

At the critical juncture of the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass production of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle represents another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: "Comprehensive Internationalization, Comprehensive New Energy Transition, and Comprehensive Intelligence." Facing the industry trends of deep integration of electrification and intelligence, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is building vertically integrated synergies in core components such as batteries, e-drives, and electronic controls by leveraging key technologies.

The official commencement of production 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 localized development of e-drive technology in China's commercial vehicle industry. Going forward, the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, explore efficiency gains through lean management, and accelerate the new energy commercial vehicle industry toward a new era of market-driven growth.