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 celebrated another major 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 key competitive edge in the field of new energy core components for commercial vehicles, transitioning from strategic planning to tangible implementation. 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, as well as 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 Industry Transformation Trend, Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation, 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 the new energy penetration rate projected to reach 50% by 2030, and L2+ level intelligent driving in commercial vehicles to reach 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping the global energy supply chain landscape, making energy self-sufficiency a strategic priority for nations worldwide, pushing 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 manufactured 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 ZF's integrated e-drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 is applicable to medium and heavy-duty vehicles. It uses a modular design to replace the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and conventional axle, enabling commercial vehicle electrification. The product rolling off the line this time 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, compact design that maximizes battery layout space, and 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 company in Jiaxing in 2017, the cooperation between the two parties has been continuously deepening. To date, the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture factory has achieved cumulative sales of 20 billion yuan. 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 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 support of the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture factory, and paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He noted that the rollout 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 advantages to accelerate the efficient transformation of the e-drive axle from technology reserve to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value, focusing on core scenarios such as long-haul logistics and regional distribution to 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 supply chain to accelerate component localization, making globally quality e-drive axles available to customers with better cost performance, and helping new energy commercial vehicles accelerate from "policy-driven" to "market-driven".

03 Aiming for 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 rollout of the AxTrax 2 e-drive axle is another important achievement in BAIC Foton's implementation 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, leveraging key technologies.

The official production launch 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. In the future, the BAIC Foton and ZF transmission joint venture factory will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, exploit efficiency space through lean management, and accelerate the new energy commercial vehicle industry's transition to a market-driven new stage.