Robotaxi Incident Prompts China to Recheck Smart Car Road Tests
By Reuters | 14 Apr, 2026

Beijing's order was prompted by several robotaxi outages involving Baidu's Apollo Go in Wuhan.

China has ordered local authorities to conduct self-inspections and strengthen safety oversight of road tests involving intelligent connected vehicles following a recent incident.

Local governments should identify and analyse key issues and carry out rectification work with due diligence, the industry ministry said on Tuesday in a statement after a meeting held jointly with officials from the public security and transportation ministries.

The meeting followed a recent robotaxi outage involving multiple vehicles operated by Baidu's Apollo Go in central Chinese city of Wuhan, which has revived safety concerns over the fast-growing service.

(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo)