China has temporarily suspended the issuance of new robotaxi licenses after the serious accident of the Baidu Apollo Go raised concerns about the safety and reliability of autonomous driving services, Nikkei reports. The incident occurred on March 31 in Wuhan, when about 200 Baidu robotaxis suddenly stopped in traffic after engineers reportedly sent a command ordering the cars to stop and collect data while driving. Wuhan police described the incident as a system error that resulted in no injuries, but videos of stranded passengers and malfunctioning cars quickly spread online.
In response, four central agencies convened eight leading autonomous driving companies and local officials, ordering a comprehensive self-test. The final assessment may be available by the end of May. Existing operators, in particular Pony.ai and WeRide stated that their services continue to be provided as usual, and expressed support for improving security standards.
This move could slow down the short-term development of the industry, especially as Chinese automakers such as Xpeng and Geely expand their robotaxi operations, but it could also raise barriers to entry and increase regulation. In 2025, China had about 4,500 robotaxis in pilot zones in 10 cities, and analysts predict significant growth by 2030. The Baidu case is different from the recent Waymo outage in San Francisco, as it appears to be related to internal operational disruptions.
