China paused robotaxi licenses after a Wuhan breakdown, then resumed them

China stopped issuing new autonomous taxi licenses following a breakdown in Wuhan, Hubei province, on the night of 31 March 2026. Bloomberg reported that several Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis stopped abruptly on the roadway, stranding passengers on busy elevated roads. The incident alarmed regulators enough to convene a meeting in April with officials from pilot cities. Three institutions, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), took part.

Frozen fleets and falling shares

The permit suspension barred companies from expanding fleets, launching new test projects, or entering additional cities. The duration remained unclear. Markets reacted quickly: Baidu shares listed in Hong Kong dropped about 2 percent, Pony AI fell 6 percent, and WeRide lost 3 percent.

Regulators ordered local authorities to conduct independent audits and strengthen safety oversight. The company described the breakdown as a rare incident, attributing it to customer service issues.

Licenses resume after the audit

Permits began returning gradually after the industry safety review concluded at the end of June. Momenta (HKEX: 6880) received one of the first approvals. On 21 July, the company announced its robotaxi was cleared for test drives in Shenzhen. Local authorities in Shenzhen updated rules for intelligently connected vehicles, opening the entire city to testing and lowering entry barriers. Baidu Apollo Go also resumed normal operations in Wuhan.

The incident highlights the narrow margin between expansion and public trust in China's autonomous transport sector. Beijing promotes autonomous driving as a strategic technology. However, following the March failure, regulators froze the entire permits market until a common safety assessment standard was established. For operators, development pace now hinges more on audit results than technical capability.

Chinese operators continued expanding abroad. Pony AI launched a commercial autonomous ride service in Zagreb, Croatia, in April. WeRide announced a joint project with Uber in Spain. International growth proceeded while domestic permits remained frozen. For the industry, regulatory risk in China has become a driver for market diversification rather than just domestic fleet scaling.