Apollo Go Robotaxi Malfunction Causes Road Accidents

A malfunction involving Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxis in Wuhan, China, resulted in multiple vehicles halting abruptly in traffic, causing collisions and leaving passengers trapped inside for extended periods.

Numerous reports indicate that the robotaxis stopped in the middle of roads, leading to accidents and passengers being unable to exit for more than an hour. One passenger recounted having to wait 30 minutes to reach customer support.

— Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 (@ZeyiYang) April 1, 2026

Local traffic authorities confirmed the incidents, noting that several vehicles were immobilized in the roadway. They reported that early investigations suggest a system failure triggered the issue.

Wuhan serves as the primary operational hub for Apollo Go, which has over 1,000 autonomous vehicles deployed in the city. Baidu has been heavily investing in its autonomous driving technology, positioning itself alongside competitors like Alphabet's Waymo.

Despite facing competition from other Chinese firms such as WeRide and Pony.ai, as well as Tesla in the U.S., Apollo Go has made significant strides, offering commercial services in various cities, including Wuhan and Beijing's suburbs. The service completed 3.4 million orders in the last quarter of 2025 and operates or tests its vehicles in 26 cities globally.

Notably, in December, Waymo experienced a similar issue when its vehicles became immobilized due to a power outage.