Wuhan, a city in China over 1,000 km south of Beijing, is home to more than 13 million residents. On the night of March 31, 2026, the streets of this bustling city unexpectedly became a parking lot. Dozens of electric robotaxis, operated by Baidu's Apollo Go, came to a halt simultaneously, causing significant disruption. Reports indicate that as many as 200 vehicles ceased operations, effectively bringing traffic to a standstill.
This sudden breakdown resulted in chaos for other drivers, who encountered the stalled robotaxis and were unable to navigate around them, leading to several minor rear-end collisions. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and passengers inside the Apollo Go vehicles could exit safely. However, some felt uncomfortable leaving the high-tech vehicles and opted to call police for assistance.
@reuters A "system failure" caused a robotaxi outage involving multiple vehicles operated by Baidu's Apollo Go in central China's Wuhan, local police said on April 1, re-igniting safety concerns over the fast-growing service. #robotaxi #cars #China #Wuhan #tech ♬ original sound - Reuters
The incident drew the attention of government officials in Beijing, who held an emergency meeting in early April. Representatives from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) convened with eight self-driving vehicle manufacturers. In response to the Wuhan disruption, China has suspended the issuance of new licenses for autonomous vehicles, effectively placing the industry on a "time-out" while they investigate the situation.
This license suspension poses significant obstacles for companies aiming to expand. Currently, no firm can add vehicles to its fleet, initiate operations in new cities, or commence new testing initiatives. Regulatory bodies have mandated that local governments reassess their safety protocols to prevent another widespread failure. Officials may not resume issuing new licenses until the end of May.
Investigators suspect that a system failure is to blame for the abrupt halt of Baidu's Apollo Go cars. Operations in Wuhan have been halted while authorities and experts analyze the root cause of the simultaneous failures. If a solution is not found, public confidence in autonomous vehicles may decline.
While Baidu grapples with this setback, its competitors report uninterrupted operations. Pony.ai confirmed that its robotaxi services continue to run smoothly in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, with plans to expand to Changsha and Hangzhou soon. Another competitor, WeRide, stated that its robotaxis are functioning without issues over an operational area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers (about 386 square miles).
The robotaxi sector in China has been rapidly advancing. By the end of 2025, around 4,500 of these vehicles were already in operation across ten cities, managed by eight different companies. Prior to the recent malfunction, the market appeared poised for further growth, with ride-hailing service Caocao, owned by Geely, aiming to operate a fleet of 100,000 robotaxis by 2030.
While this ambitious target is significant, safety remains the top priority. Following the recent incident, the central government is scrutinizing these projects more closely than before. Previously, local jurisdictions had their regulations, but now compliance with stricter national standards from Beijing is mandatory.
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