A parking lot of predominantly new Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles is seen in Richmond, California, U.S. June 22, 2018.

Tesla said on Friday it plans to start delivering Model 3 cars to customers in China in March, cementing a time frame that the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker's chief executive, Elon Musk, tweeted about late last year.

The California-based firm, which aims to accelerate Chinese sales that have been hit hard by the impact of trade tension between Washington and Beijing, said in a statement the starting price for a Model 3 in China would be 499,000 yuan ($72,000).

Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 last month, the third time in the last two months for the firm to adjust prices in China.

In November, Tesla cut the prices of its Model X and Model S in China by 12 to 26 percent.