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's strategic cooperation bore fruit once again — the first AxTrax 2 e-drive axle rolled off the production line at their joint venture factory in Jiaxing, marking a critical milestone in BAIC Foton's mastery of key core components in the new energy commercial vehicle sector, transitioning from strategic布局 to 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, 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 agencies, shareholders, partners, and media, gathered together to witness this milestone moment.

01 Responding to Industry Transformation, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a transformation of a magnitude unseen in a century, with electrification and intelligentization 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+ intelligent driving in commercial vehicles expected to reach 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global energy supply chain, making energy self-sufficiency a strategic priority for nations worldwide, forcing the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its 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, to be produced 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, marking the transformation of this strategic layout from blueprint to reality.

As ZF's integrated e-drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces engines, transmissions, driveshafts, differentials, and conventional axles to achieve commercial vehicle electrification. The product rolling off the line is equipped with a 930V 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, maximizing battery layout space through its compact design while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system solution for commercial vehicle electrification transformation.

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 and 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 key 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, municipal government, economic development zone, and relevant departments for their long-term care and support for the development of the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture factory, and extended high respect to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He noted that the new product rollout is only the first step of a long journey, and put forward three expectations for the future development of the joint venture:

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

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

Third, promote localization and cost reduction, leveraging the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain to accelerate the localization of components, 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 Anchoring the "15th Five-Year Plan," Supporting Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical juncture of the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass production and rollout of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle is another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: "Comprehensive Internationalization, Comprehensive New Energy, 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 synergistic advantages in core components such as batteries, e-drives, and electronic controls, leveraging key technologies as a lever.

The official production of the AxTrax 2 e-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 e-drive technology in China's commercial vehicle industry. Going forward, the BAIC Foton and 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 to a market-driven new stage.