City delivery buyers stopped asking for the biggest torque figure. Between 19 and 22 October 2026, Chinese truck makers published two other numbers instead: a turning diameter under 12 metres and a driveline efficiency of 94 percent. The front axle and the e-axle, not the motor rating, now decide whether a commercial vehicle axle wins city work.
A 12-metre turn becomes a selling point
Sinotruk's HOWO New Energy Commander, detailed on 22 October 2026, pairs a self-developed MC-series oil-cooled e-axle rated 190 kW and 420 N·m, 17 percent more torque than the unit it replaces, with large-angle front axle tuning that holds the turning diameter under 12 metres. The target is the narrow lane and the basement ramp; four-stage regeneration returns over 10 percent of the vehicle's energy.
Efficiency, not peak power, is the second score
Foton's Auman Galaxy 5M 466 kWh, published on 19 October 2026, deletes the propeller shaft, the transfer case and the separate gearbox, sending torque straight to the wheel ends through an integrated flat-wire oil-cooled e-axle. Driveline efficiency reaches 94 percent, cutting energy use per 100 km by over 5 percent, at motor peak efficiency of 97.7 percent.
What 400 kg and 3-5 percent are worth
For the Double 11 express peak, Sinotruk's HOWO TX new-energy truck quotes a self-developed e-axle that raises driveline efficiency 3 to 5 percent, removes 400 kg and cuts energy use 2 to 3 percent, adding about 10 percent range. A six-in-one controller and five-stage regeneration up to 30 percent run on 600 V, with the pack rated eight years or 4,500 cycles.
Light trucks follow the same route
Foton Aolin Jidian, shown at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover, rides the Qimingxing electric light-truck platform developed over three years for more than 1.7 billion yuan. Its two-speed e-axle and 165.15 kWh pack return 607 km, with 2C charging from 20 to 80 percent in 18 minutes. Farizon registered 22,975 new-energy light commercial vehicles in September 2026, a 24.3 percent share.
What Yihe Axle reads from it
Zhucheng Yihe Axle Co., Ltd. sees one specification order: a front axle with enough steering angle and knuckle strength to hold a 12-metre circle at full load, and a drive axle or e-axle efficient enough to pay for itself every 100 km. Peak torque is now the third question fleets ask.
Bottom line
From late 2026 a commercial vehicle axle for city and regional delivery is specified by the turning circle its front axle allows and the efficiency its e-axle delivers, before peak torque enters the quote.