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

On June 22, BAIC Foton and ZF once again achieved a significant milestone in their strategic cooperation — the first AxTrax 2 e-axle officially rolled off the production line at their joint venture factory in Jiaxing. This marks a key breakthrough for BAIC Foton in gaining a decisive voice in the core components sector of new energy commercial vehicles, transforming strategic layout 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 Party Secretary 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 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 unseen in a century, with electrification and intelligence 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+ intelligent driving in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global energy supply chain, making energy self-sufficiency a strategic priority for nations and accelerating the commercial vehicle industry's transition from fuel-driven to electric-driven systems.

Based on a deep insight into these 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-axle officially rolled off the production line at the joint venture factory, turning this strategic vision into reality.

As ZF's next-generation integrated e-axle platform for commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium and heavy-duty vehicles, replacing engines, transmissions, drive shafts, differentials, and conventional axles with a modular design to achieve commercial vehicle electrification. The product features a 930V platform 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 electrification transformation of commercial vehicles.

02 Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower, Joint Venture 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. 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-axle represents a critical step in extending the cooperation from traditional transmission to electric drive systems.

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 care and support for the development of the BAIC Foton-ZF transmission joint venture, and paid high respect to the project team and all employees who worked 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 technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle scenario advantages to accelerate the efficient transformation of e-axle technology from technical reserves to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value, focusing on core scenarios such as干线物流 (trunk logistics) and regional transportation, accelerating the value transformation from "production line delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, promote localization and cost reduction, relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industry chain to accelerate component localization, allowing globally competitive e-axles to benefit customers at more optimal prices, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven".

03 Targeting 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-axle represents another significant achievement of BAIC Foton's three major strategies: "Comprehensive Internationalization, Comprehensive New Energy Transformation, and Comprehensive Intelligence". Facing the industry trends of deep integration of electrification and intelligence, and the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build vertically integrated synergies in core components such as batteries, electric drives, and electronic controls.

The official production of the AxTrax 2 e-axle not only provides strong technical support for BAIC Foton's new energy commercial vehicles but also sets a benchmark for the localized development of electric 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 space through lean management, and accelerate the new energy commercial vehicle industry's transition toward a market-driven new phase.