China's autonomous vehicles enter Central Asia market for the first time, Apollo Go to launch in Kazakhstan
On July 16, ahead of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous mobility service platform, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Turlov Private Holding Ltd. (TPH), a Kazakhstani enterprise, in Shanghai. The two parties will jointly explore introducing autonomous vehicle mobility services into Kazakhstan, marking China's first entry into the Central Asian market with self-driving cars.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, Zhaslan Madiyev, attended and witnessed the signing ceremony.
This collaboration represents another significant milestone in Apollo Go’s global expansion. Previously, Apollo Go has completed large-scale deployments in the Middle East: In March 2025, it announced a partnership with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to deploy over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles across Dubai, and collaborated with Autogo in Abu Dhabi to establish the largest autonomous fleet in the region. Additionally, Apollo Go recently obtained L4-level autonomous taxi operation licensing in Switzerland in June, covering an area of 80 square kilometers in eastern Switzerland, with road trials commencing on June 1.
According to data disclosed by Baidu, as of May this year, Apollo Go has been deployed in 27 cities worldwide, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, delivering over 22 million services. By April 2026, Apollo Go had cumulatively provided more than 22 million global rides, with total autonomous driving mileage exceeding 330 million kilometers—of which fully driverless mileage reached 220 million kilometers.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870924703284362/
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