Dec. 13 (NBD) -- Tesla sold a mere 211 cars in China this October, dropping sharply by 70 percent year-over-year, data from the China Passenger Car Association ("CPCA") showed.

In details, the sales of Model S in October sank 82 percent to 50 units, and that of Model X slid 62 percent to 161 units.

Tesla deemed the statement that "Tesla's vehicle sales in China plunge 70 percent in October" inaccurate, and the electric carmaker didn't publish either regional or monthly sales figures.

As Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA, told Yicai, Telsa indeed didn't publish its sales numbers, but the CPCA drew the conclusion based on external data.

It's noted that not only Tesla sales, but also the overall imports of pure electric vehicles are declining. Customs records showed that China imported accumulated 13,970 pure electric cars during the January-October period, down 7 percent from a year ago, and this October alone saw the imports dive by 61 percent compared with last October.

Cui held that performance in Chinese market of Tesla, a high-end pure electric car brand, will depend on the tariff factor in a short run.

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Due to changes in the tariff policy, Tesla has adjusted car prices four times within this year.

In May this year, China announced the plan to cut import tariff on automobiles to 15 percent from 25 percent, starting from July 1. Upon the news, Tesla made the move to down-regulate prices of Model S and Model X, with cuts ranging from 48,300 yuan (7,023.5 U.S. dollars) to 90,000 yuan (13,087.3 U.S. dollars) from July 1.

In late December, Tesla again slashed prices of its model S sedan and Model X SUV by between 12 percent to 26 percent in China, after raising prices, respectively, in July and in August.

A salesperson surnamed Yang at a Tesla 4S store in Shanghai told Yicai that current prices of Tesla models in China have hit the lowest level for the past three years, and as part of the sale package, an automobile loan will be subsidized.

Ye Liang, a partner in the EY-Parthenon practice of Ernst & Young (China) Advisory Limited and analyst in the automobile industry, held that short-term fluctuations in prices of Tesla models are closely related to changes in tariff, but the room for a long-term price cuts depends largely on the progress the auto manufacturer makes in localizing production in China.

Tesla is reported to start partial production in its Shanghai plant in the second half of next year.

If Model 3 rolls off the line in a large scale and be delivered at a regular pace by that time, this would significantly lower the cost for Tesla and give the carmaker considerable space for car price reduction, Ye predicted.

This July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk landed the deal to build the Shanghai auto factory. Later in September, Musk stepped down as Tesla chairman in settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a tweet about "funding secured" for taking Tesla private.

On December 12, Musk said via Twitter, "'Chairman' is an honorific, not executive role, which means it's not needed to run Tesla. Will retire that title at Tesla in 3 years."

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn