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Deployment

Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China

Baidu's sixth-generation autonomous robotaxi, a purpose-built battery-electric vehicle (cross between an SUV and a minivan, with a detachable steering wheel) built on Baidu's Apollo Galaxy / Xinghe self-driving platform. Manufactured by Baidu without relying on a third-party automaker, at roughly 204,600 RMB (~$28,600) per vehicle, about half the cost of the prior generation. Powers Apollo Go's fully-driverless commercial ride-hailing service across Chinese cities and international markets.

Apollo RT6 by Baidu · Machine verified · Robotaxis

Track Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China

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Editorial narrative

Apollo Go Wuhan

The largest single-city robotaxi deployment in the world (1,000+ vehicles, 24/7 fully driverless), and the site of the first publicly-documented fleet-wide system failure in a commercial robotaxi service (March 31, 2026). Scale and failure modes, both at full operational visibility.

Footage

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Baidu

Baidu's reveal of the purpose-built Apollo RT6, the vehicle for its Apollo Go robotaxi fleet. A product unveil, not proof of driverless operation.

Operator: Baidu (Apollo Go runs its own service). Apollo Go's largest and flagship robotaxi deployment, operating 1,000+ vehicles in Wuhan, the largest robotaxi deployment in China. Fully-driverless commercial service (Wuhan and Chongqing received China's first fully-driverless commercial robotaxi permits in August 2022).

Roughly 70% of Apollo Go's Wuhan operations run without a safety driver. Wuhan is where Apollo Go reached per-vehicle profitability; ridership offsets a local taxi fare ~30% cheaper than Beijing/Shanghai. The deployment has been progressively expanded in operating area, fleet size, and hours.

Key facts

Fleet
1,000+ vehicles (largest in China)
Service type
Fully-driverless commercial (~70% driverless)
Permit
China's first fully-driverless commercial permit (Aug 2022)
Unit economics
Reached per-vehicle profitability
Pause basis (re-verified 2026-06-05)
Still suspended after the 2026-03-31 mass system-failure (100+ vehicles froze mid-traffic); no resumption announced as of June 2026. The 2026-04-29 nationwide permit freeze blocks NEW robotaxi permits/expansion only and does not halt other operators' running services.

Exposure

Customer segment
consumer
Scale tier
fleet 1000 plus

Each exposure value carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Safety record

1 incident on record (1 serious). Most recent: Mar 2026.

serious
1

Most recent: Mar 2026

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Incidents on record (1)

Direct incidents recorded against this deployment. Retracted incidents are excluded here but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Machine verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-21
Model
Apollo RT6
Company
Baidu
Location
China/Wuhan, China
Operator
Baidu
Status
paused
Operator type
maker operated
Scale at site
100+ units
Site environment
outdoor
Location precision
verified coordinates
First seen
2022-08-08
ID
83760238-bea0-4248-a420-c6147e7ac8b4

Timeline

  1. Aug 2022
    First recorded
    Apollo RT6 first documented operating at Wuhan, China.
  2. May 2026
    created
  3. Jun 2026
    verification state change
    status: paused → paused (re-verified current 2026-06-05)
  4. Aug 2026
    Current status: paused, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

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Apollo RT6 operates in Wuhan, China. Explore the full verified map:

Verifications (1)

  • Machine verified by DEPLOY content-agent (Sprint 1.5 re-verification)2026-05-30

    Evidence: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/02/china/baidu-robotaxi-wuhan-system-failure-intl-hnk

    asOf
    2026-05-30
    basis
    Service offline/shut down since the Mar-31-2026 mass system-failure (100+ Apollo Go vehicles frozen in live traffic), pending the joint MIIT/MPS/MOT safety investigation; Baidu has given no resume timeline and the service remained offline as of late May 2026. See incident apollo-go-wuhan-service-malfunction-2026-03-31. Status reflects operational suspension pending investigation, not service discontinuation.
    status
    paused
    relatedIncident
    apollo-go-wuhan-service-malfunction-2026-03-31

Sources (9)

  1. 1,000+ vehicles, largest China deployment, per-vehicle profitability, 70% driverless · https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/20/global-robotaxi-race-heats-up-between-us-and-chinese-rivals.html · 2025-11-20
  2. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1329099/000119312526228123/d156481dex991.htm
  3. https://carnewschina.com/2024/05/15/baidu-launches-6th-generation-robotaxi-costs-less-than-a-xiaomi-su7/
  4. https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/07/baidu-to-operate-fully-driverless-commercial-robotaxi-in-wuhan-and-chongqing/
  5. https://www.autonomousvehicleinternational.com/news/robotaxis/baidu-sixth-gen-robotaxi-begins-operations-in-china.html
  6. https://carnewschina.com/2025/11/13/baidus-apollo-go-robotaxi-leads-global-autonomous-driving-with-17m-orders-targets-profit-this-year/
  7. https://www.autonomousvehicleinternational.com/news/robotaxis/baidus-apollo-go-robotaxi-fleet-in-wuhan-goes-from-5-to-300-vehicles-in-one-year.html
  8. https://ir.baidu.com/news-releases/news-release-details/baidu-announces-third-quarter-2025-results
  9. Baidu Apollo · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_Apollo · 2022-01-01
Methodology: Verified · 9 sources (2 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-21

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: av

Sources by quality tier

4
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
secondary-established-publication
Established publication
1
primary-sec-filing
SEC filing
1
secondary-industry-publication
Industry publication
1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China.

Common questions

What is the Apollo RT6 deployment at Wuhan, China?
Apollo RT6, built by Baidu, is recorded as a deployment at Wuhan, China on the DEPLOY registry. Baidu operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China?
Baidu, the manufacturer of Apollo RT6, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Apollo RT6 deployment at Wuhan, China go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting August 8, 2022 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Is the Apollo RT6 deployment at Wuhan, China still active?
As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is paused (operations temporarily halted).
Have there been incidents at the Apollo RT6 deployment at Wuhan, China?
1 active incident affecting this deployment is on the DEPLOY registry. Each is a sourced, append-only record; retracted incidents are suppressed from this view.
Is Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China safe?
Apollo RT6 at Wuhan, China has 1 active incident on record in the DEPLOY registry. 1 incident on record (1 serious). Most recent: Mar 2026. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.

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