The HXD2 is an electric two-section locomotive with a total of eight axles that was primarily ordered for heavy coal traffic with trains of up to 7,000 tonnes. It was developed jointly by Alstom and CRRC Datong and is based on the Alstom Prima. The first twelve were built in France in 2006, followed by 24 kits which were assembled in China. All others were built in China, leading to a total of 550 in multiple batches. Each two-section locomotive has a total power of 10,000 kW and a top speed of 120 km/h. The axle load is basically 23 tonnes, but can be increased to 25 tonnes with ballast.

The first ten HXD2B were built in France in 2009. These were single-section locomotives with six axles. With 9,600 kW and a top speed of also 120 km/h, they were built for freight traffic, too. After production had continued in China, they finally numbered 500. The HXD2C built from 2010 is similar, but uses more parts built in China. This decreased the dependence on foreign-made parts, but reduced the output to 7,200 kW.

Additionally, there are two two-section variants of the HXD2 which were only built as prototypes. One is the HXD2F that was later renamed to FXD2B or “Fuxing 2B”. These two locomotives have 9,600 kW and only use Chinese parts. They are optimized for even heavier trains with a top speed of only 100 km/h and can be operated with an axle load between 27 and 30 tonnes. On the other side, the HXD2G is a lightweight variant for passenger service that has an axle load of only 18 tonnes and an output of 11,200 kW. It was designed for 200 km/h, but the prototype was only operated with 160 km/h.