Visitors check out a Tesla Model 3 in an exhibition center in Shanghai's Qingpu district in April. [Photo by Fan Jianlei/For China Daily]

The export value of Shanghai's pure electric passenger vehicles came in at approximately 20.68 billion yuan ($3.22 billion), up 14.3 times year-on-year, in the first eight months of 2021, local customs said Thursday.

From January to August, the city's automobile exports reached nearly 35 billion yuan, up 247.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

During the period, pure electric passenger cars, also known as battery electric passenger vehicles, accounted for nearly 60 percent of Shanghai's total automobile export value, showing the rapid momentum of the new energy vehicle industry in Shanghai, according to the local customs.

Meanwhile, the city's auto parts exports hit 30.17 billion yuan, up 31.2 percent year-on-year.