GoKawiilA Baidu Inc. Apollo Go autonomous driving electric vehicle displayed at the International Automotive and Supply Chain Expo in Hong Kong, June 12, 2025.
Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxis reportedly stopped mid-traffic, trapping passengers and resulting in highway collisions on the streets of the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday, according to videos shared on social media.
The incident was confirmed by a statement published on the official Weibo account of the Wuhan local traffic police department, which acknowledged reports of multiple Apollo Go vehicles that stalled in the middle of a road.
"Upon investigation, preliminary findings suggest system malfunctions as the cause of the incident," read the police department's statement in Chinese, translated by CNBC.
The statement added that authorities had worked with Apollo Go staff to handle the initial situation, with the incident still undergoing further investigation. Passengers had safely exited the affected vehicles, it added.
Chinese search giant Baidu , which owns and operates Apollo Go, did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Wuhan city is home to Apollo Go's largest robotaxi deployment in China, with more than 1,000 vehicles operating without human drivers.
Baidu has invested in and ramped up its driverless ride-hailing unit much like its U.S. counterpart Alphabet has invested in and ramped up robotaxi service Waymo in the western part of the U.S.. Both have grown into leading robotaxi providers in an emerging industry that's recently tipped into the mainstream.
Apollo Go also faces formidable competition from other Chinese autonomous vehicle makers in Asia, including WeRide and Pony.AI . Elon Musk's automaker Tesla is also developing driverless vehicles but is not yet operating a commercial robotaxi service outside of a limited pilot in Austin, Texas.
Apollo Go already operates a commercial, driverless ride-hailing service in several major Chinese cities, including the entire city of Wuhan and the suburbs of Beijing. In its fourth-quarter earnings update for 2025, Baidu said Apollo Go driverless vehicles are now deployed or testing in 26 international cities.