China suspends issuance of new autonomous vehicle permits

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Chinese government has reportedly suspended the issuance of new autonomous vehicle permits following an incident involving the mass breakdown of more than 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis on the streets of Wuhan in March 2026, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday (29/4) based on statements from individuals familiar with the matter. Citing the report, Automotive World stated that the suspension of permit issuance prevents autonomous vehicle operators from adding vehicles to their fleets, launching new trial programmes, or expanding into new cities. However, no information has been provided on how long the suspension of autonomous vehicle permit issuance will last. Regulators in China decided to suspend the issuance of new autonomous vehicle permits following the incident on the night of 31 March 2026, when several Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis suddenly malfunctioned, causing passengers to be stranded on the streets of Wuhan in Hubei Province. The incident prompted three agencies, including China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to hold a meeting earlier this month with officials from cities running robotaxi or autonomous vehicle pilot programmes, according to a Bloomberg report cited in a CNEV Post broadcast. Regulators have asked local governments to conduct comprehensive independent reviews and enhance safety monitoring to prevent a repeat of the Wuhan incident. A representative from Apollo Go’s customer service told local Chinese media at the time of the incident that a network issue caused anomalies in the autonomous vehicles’ steering systems. Initial investigations indicated that the problem with the Apollo Go vehicles was due to a system failure, according to a statement from Wuhan traffic police. Baidu’s shares fell 2.8 percent in Hong Kong a few hours after the report on the suspension of autonomous vehicle permit issuance in China was published. Shares in other Chinese autonomous driving companies also declined. Pony.ai saw a 5.5 percent drop in share value, while WeRide’s shares fell 4.7 percent. However, both companies confirmed that their fleets were operating normally. The autonomous vehicle service business is growing rapidly in China, with the number of operational vehicles reaching around 4,500 units in ten different cities by the end of 2025.