China suspends autonomous driving permits after 100+ Baidu robotaxis stall in Wuhan

China Suspends New Autonomous Driving Permits After Baidu Outage

China has suspended issuing new licenses for autonomous vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter, after dozens of Baidu Inc.'s Apollo Go robotaxis suddenly stopped in Wuhan last month, stranding passengers and disrupting traffic. The incident alarmed authorities, and three agencies including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology convened a meeting earlier this month with officials from cities that have robotaxis or autonomous-driving pilots, the people said. Regulators called for local governments to conduct a full self-review and enhance safety monitoring to prevent similar incidents, said the people, who declined to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak publicly. Click here to read this story in Chinese language.A video guide to reading Bloomberg Chinese news here. The suspension of new licenses prevents self-driving companies from adding new robotaxis to their fleets, starting a new test project or expanding to a new city, the people said. It's not clear how long the suspension will last, the people said. The halt comes as a setback to a fast-growing industry that is estimated to be worth 83.1 billion yuan ($12.2 billion) by 2030, according to analysis by Soochow Securities. Chinese companies are on the forefront of bringing the technology to global markets, locked in competition with rivals such as Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo in the US. This marks at least the second time that regulators have paused new permits due to a Baidu-related incident. In the Wuhan incident, more than 100 Apollo Go robotaxis stalled on city streets on March 31, according to Chinese media reports. Local police said the outage was likely caused by a systems fault, although Baidu has yet to comment on the cause. Apollo Go is the largest robotaxi provider in China, with hundreds of vehicles in more than a dozen cities. Baidu's Wuhan robotaxi operations have also been suspended while local authorities investigate the incident, the people said. MIIT, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transportation didn't reply to faxed requests for comment. A representative for Baidu didn't immediately respond to emailed questions. Rival robotaxi provider Pony AI Inc. said its services in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are currently operating normally. And preparation for Changsha and Hangzhou is progressing as planned, a spokesperson said. WeRide Inc. said it supported authorities' efforts to ensure the highest safety standards across the industry, and that their services in China are still operating as normal. Beijing is trying to balance safety concerns and negative public sentiment over AI-related job losses with the desire to groom homegrown technology in the autonomous-driving race against the US. The licenses specifically pertain to level four autonomous driving vehicles, which refers to a high degree of driving automation where a human doesn't need to intervene. Two years ago, residents in Wuhan protested over the deployment of Apollo Go robotaxis in the city, fearing taxi drivers could lose their jobs. To calm public sentiment, regulators froze approvals in late 2024 for several months and it wasn't until early 2025 that permitting resumed. The shares of China's two US-listed robotaxi companies have fallen this year, with WeRide down almost 10% and Pony AI plunging around 30%. The companies are yet to make a profit and need to invest heavily into developing new products and supporting their global expansion plans.

Bloomberg: China pauses AV permits after Baidu disruption

Baidu's robotaxi operations in Wuhan have been suspended, sources tell the publication. China has suspended issuing new licenses for level-four autonomous vehicles (AV) after more than 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis abruptly stopped in Wuhan in late March, Bloomberg news reported. Level-four AVs do not require humans involvement to drive. The suspension will result in AV companies from adding new robotaxis to their fleet or expanding to new cities. It is unclear how long the suspension will last, sources told the publication. Meanwhile, Baidu's robotaxi operations in Wuhan have also been suspended while authorities investigate the incident. The incident caused traffic disruptions and highway collisions, trapping passengers on the streets of Wuhan. Videos on social media show Baidu AVs lined up on the road, unmoving. "Upon investigation, preliminary findings suggest system malfunctions as the cause of the incident," read a translated statement from the Wuhan local traffic police department. Apollo Go is the largest robotaxi provider in China, with several hundred vehicles in more than a dozen cities in the country. Rival Pony AI told Bloomberg that its services in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are currently operating normally, with expansion plans progressing as planned. WeRide also said that its services in China are operating normally. Baidu's shares are down nearly 2pc, while Pony AI is down more than 3pc; WeRide, around 4.2pc; and BYD around 2.2pc. Sources told publication that the incident led to a high-level meeting between agencies this month involving the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with regulators calling for local governments to conduct a full self-review and improve safety monitoring to prevent similar incidents in the future. In 2024, Wuhan residents protested against Apollo Go's deployment in the city, fearing job losses. In response, regulators paused AV approvals for several months before resuming in early 2025. Meanwhile, a massive power outage in San Francisco in December led to a disruption to Waymo services in the city. During the incident, California residents reported spotting Waymo vehicles stalled on the streets, adding on to the gridlock. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.