Over 100 Robotaxis Malfunction in Middle of Roads... China Halts Operating Permits

China has reportedly temporarily suspended the issuance of new permits for autonomous vehicles. This move comes after a large-scale incident last month in which Baidu's robotaxis came to a halt in Wuhan, prompting authorities to strengthen safety inspections.

On the 31st of last month, Baidu's robotaxi stopped in Wuhan, China. Photo captured by Byron-Wan X

According to Bloomberg News on the 29th, citing sources, Chinese authorities have suspended the issuance of new permits for autonomous vehicles. Earlier this month, three government agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, held meetings with officials from cities operating robotaxi or autonomous driving pilot programs and asked local governments to conduct comprehensive self-inspections and strengthen safety monitoring.

According to the sources, due to the suspension of new permit issuance, autonomous driving companies now face restrictions in deploying additional robotaxis, launching new pilot programs, or expanding into new cities. It is still unclear how long this suspension will remain in place.

According to Chinese media reports last month, Baidu's robotaxi "Luobo Kuaipao" (robotaxi, also known as Apollo Go), operated by Baidu, experienced a mass malfunction and came to a halt in various locations throughout downtown Wuhan, Hubei Province. As a result, some vehicles stopped in the middle of elevated highways and city roads, and passengers were left stranded inside the cars. Local police stated that the cause appeared to be a system error, but Baidu has not released an official statement regarding the cause.

Bloomberg noted that this suspension of permit issuance is expected to be a setback for the rapidly growing autonomous driving industry. Dongwoo Securities previously projected that the autonomous driving market will grow to 83.1 billion yuan (approximately 18 trillion won) by 2030. Chinese companies are currently leading the global commercialization of autonomous driving technology and are fiercely competing with rivals such as Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.