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

On June 22, BAIC Foton and ZF Friedrichshafen celebrated another major achievement in their strategic cooperation — the first AxTrax 2 e-drive axle officially rolled off the production line at their joint venture factory in Jiaxing, marking a critical milestone in Foton's mastery of key core components for new energy commercial vehicles and a pivotal transition from planning to 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 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 media gathered to witness this milestone moment.

01 Aligning with Industrial Transformation: Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a transformation of a scale not seen in a century, with electrification and intelligent technologies sweeping across the globe. During China's 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% and L2+ intelligent driving penetration for commercial vehicles to reach 30% by 2030. Meanwhile, geopolitical dynamics are reshaping the global energy supply chain, making energy self-sufficiency a strategic priority for nations worldwide and accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven systems.

Based on this deep insight into industry trends, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement in April 2023 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 has now officially rolled off the line at the joint venture factory, turning this strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's next-generation integrated e-drive axle platform for commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 is designed for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and conventional axle to achieve full commercial vehicle electrification. The product rolling off the line features a 930V silicon carbide inverter, delivering 210 kW continuous output power and 26,000 Nm peak torque, equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator. Its compact design maximizes battery layout space while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for the commercial vehicle electrification transition.

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 Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory has achieved cumulative sales of 20 billion RMB. The Jiaxing base, with its advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, is becoming ZF's important manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters base in the Asia-Pacific region. The official rollout of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle represents a key step in extending the partnership from the traditional transmission field into the electric drive domain.

In his speech, Lu Zhenghua expressed sincere gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-term support of the 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 only the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, to continue technological leadership by fully leveraging ZF's global technology advantages and Foton's vehicle scenario expertise to accelerate the efficient transformation of the e-drive axle from technology reserve to commercial delivery;

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

Third, to promote localization and cost reduction by leveraging the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic supply chain to accelerate parts localization, enabling globally competitive e-drive axles to benefit customers with better cost performance and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 Targeting the 15th Five-Year Plan: Driving Green Commercial Vehicle Transformation

Standing at the critical juncture of the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the mass production of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle represents another significant achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: "Comprehensive Internationalization, Comprehensive New Energy, and Comprehensive Intelligence." Facing the deepening integration of electrification and intelligence, as well as the restructuring of global supply chains, BAIC Foton is building vertically integrated advantages in key components including batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls by leveraging critical technologies.

The official production of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle not only provides powerful 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. Going forward, the Foton-ZF transmission joint venture factory will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, explore efficiency space through lean management, and accelerate the new energy commercial vehicle industry into a new phase of market-driven growth.