Robotaxi malfunction in China causes traffic chaos as cars stall

Lead

More than 100 driverless taxis operated by Baidu's Apollo Go service came to a sudden halt on the roads of Wuhan, China, on Tuesday night, leaving passengers stranded in the middle of busy traffic and prompting renewed concerns about the safety of autonomous vehicles, according to police statements and local media reports.

The incident began around 9 p.m. local time, police said, when they started receiving reports of robotaxis stopping in their tracks. A preliminary investigation attributed the failure to a "system malfunction," though the exact cause remains under investigation, according to the official statement.

No injuries were reported, and most passengers were able to exit their vehicles safely, authorities said. However, some riders found themselves stuck for hours, with at least one describing a 90-minute ordeal on an elevated highway while dump trucks passed by.

The event marks a major setback for Baidu, which operates one of the world's largest robotaxi fleets and has been aggressively expanding its Apollo Go service across China and into international markets such as Europe and the Middle East.

Coverage Comparison

The incident was widely covered by international media, with reports from Reuters, ABC Australia, BBC News, and The Guardian. All sources confirmed the core facts: a system malfunction caused over 100 vehicles to stall, no injuries were reported, and passengers were able to evacuate safely in most cases.

However, coverage varied in emphasis. Reuters and ABC Australia focused on the scale of the disruption and the broader implications for driverless vehicle safety, while BBC News highlighted the safety concerns and the company's international partnerships. The Guardian's coverage featured detailed accounts from stranded passengers and was notably more critical of Baidu's customer service response, describing the ordeal as "distressing" and quoting riders who accused the company of offering "useless platitudes."

A second Guardian article, however, provided a more straightforward account of the incident, centering on the mass shutdown and its operational consequences.

Key Claims

• Mass shutdown: Over 100 Apollo Go robotaxis stopped mid-traffic in Wuhan due to a system malfunction, according to police statements reported by multiple outlets including Reuters, BBC News, and ABC Australia.
• Cause: Initial police findings attribute the incident to a "system malfunction," with further investigation ongoing, as reported by several sources.
• Passenger safety: No injuries were reported, and passengers were able to exit vehicles safely in most cases, according to police and media reports.
• Stranded passengers: Some passengers were stranded for hours because their vehicles stopped in the middle of busy, multi-lane roads, and had to be rescued, as detailed in reports from ABC Australia and The Guardian.
• Baidu's operations: The company operates more than 1,000 robotaxis, mostly in China, and has started services in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with plans for Europe, as noted by Reuters and ABC Australia.
• International partnerships: Baidu has partnered with Uber and Lyft to test Apollo Go cars in the UK, pending regulatory approval, a claim reported by Reuters and BBC News.
• Previous incidents: The Wuhan incident is not the first for Baidu's robotaxis. A single-source report from Reuters noted a previous incident in Chongqing in August 2025, where an Apollo Go car fell into a construction pit. The Guardian's reporting also mentioned a December incident in Zhuzhou where a Baidu vehicle ran over two pedestrians, though this was not covered by other sources included here.
• Customer service criticism: Some passengers criticized Baidu's customer service as unhelpful, with one rider recounting repeated calls and delayed assistance. This claim was reported exclusively by The Guardian and has not been independently verified by other outlets.

Perspectives

The incident has fueled a broader debate about the readiness of autonomous vehicle technology. Experts referenced by Reuters and BBC News acknowledged that while driverless tech may be safer on average than human drivers, this kind of failure shows it can "still go wrong in completely new ways," as Jack Stilgoe, professor of science and technology policy at University College London, put it.

Passengers affected by the outage expressed frustration, with some posting videos and screenshots on social media showing their attempts to contact the company. One RedNote user described feeling "stuck on the overpass with dump trucks all around," highlighting the fear of being trapped in a dangerous road position.

Baidu has not yet publicly responded to the incident, with both Reuters and ABC Australia noting that the company had not replied to requests for comment at the time of writing.

The company's expansion plans, including partnerships with Uber and Lyft for UK trials, now face scrutiny as regulators and the public weigh the risks and benefits of autonomous vehicles. The Wuhan incident marks the first mass shutdown of robotaxis in China, but it's not the first time such a fleet has failed. In December 2025, Waymo's self-driving cars stalled in San Francisco after a power outage, as noted by ABC Australia and The Guardian.