About half (48.4 percent) of imported brake pads failed to meet government standards, according to a recent inspection conducted by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

The inspection watchdog sampled a total of 467 batches of brake pads, examining products from more than 60 brands from 18 countries and regions. At least 226 batches failed the quality check, including those from Land Rover, Hyundai, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Textar, KIA, Volvo and BMW.

AQSIQ said that one reason for the quality issues is that companies and dealers do not always pay enough attention to state standards. AQSIQ spoke to some of the companies and distributors involved, and ordered manufacturers to strengthen the quality of their products and safety management systems. They also asked distributors to stop importing and selling sub-standard brake pads.

Another investigation on imported brake pads was carried out by AQSIQ this year; the results will soon be released. Companies that fail to meet the standards in the future will be punished.