Taicang Port, the largest automobile export hub in the Yangtze River basin, exported a record 1.08 million vehicles in the first nine months of this year, according to data from Nanjing Customs.

This marked the first time the export volume has surpassed one million and represents a year-on-year increase of over 80 percent.

The cars were shipped to 168 countries and regions.

In September alone, the port exported about 160,000 vehicles, setting a new monthly record. Among them, exports of new energy vehicles rose 110 percent year on year.

Located in Taicang, a county-level city administered by Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province, Taicang Port has become a key gateway for China’s automobile exports.

The port is home to the Haitong (Taicang) Automobile Ro-Ro Terminal, the largest automobile roll-on/roll-off terminal in the Yangtze River basin. The terminal has a designed annual handling capacity of 1.3 million vehicles.