(Yicai Global) March 15 -- Tesla's Model 3 moved a step closer to mass delivery in the world's largest auto market today after China's customs administration lifted a ban on the entry-level electric sedan.

The Model 3, which China's General Administration of Customs had said posed safety risks, has now undergone technical alterations and is fit for the market, Beijing News reported, citing an insider at the administration. 

The GAC suspended imports of the Model 3 on March 6, when it said inspections showed the vehicles had misprinted or missing local language labels and did not meet China's requirements for motor vehicle safety.

California-based Tesla said at the time that it was merely a printing error and the firm would strive to get the vehicles delivered to customers as soon as possible. Model 3 sales in China will not be affected, it added.

The company shipped 4,678 Model 3s from Los Angeles to China in February this year, which each selling for between CNY407,000 (USD60,600) and CNY516,000, according to customs data. 

The vehicle is Tesla's cheapest, but it retails for far more in China than it does in the United States -- something Chief Executive Elon Musk is hoping to fix in the near future.

He has already begun work on a Shanghai factory -- Tesla's first outside its home market -- which will allow the carmaker to circumvent import duty and sell the cars for less in China.

Editor: James Boynton