The Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has seen an influx of incorrectly labelled products
According to the Bureau's statistics, six batches of lubricants weighing more than 114 tons, imported in the first six months of 2014, failed to meet their advertised specification - a 79% increase year-on-year.
The lubes, which had a cumulative value of $163,000, originated from a number of different countries and had varying shortfalls.
In February, Zhongshan port inspection found that a batch of engine oil from Malaysia failed to meet pour point and viscosity requirements, meaning they fell short of national standards. Later in the year, SM 5W-40 lubes from the United Arab Emirates also failed to meet pour point standards at -30 ?.
Guangzhou province has become increasingly vigilant after blacklisting 12 domestic lubricant brands that were found to be substandard in early 2014. Shandong province also detected a large quantity of poor quality products in 2013.
The prevalence of low quality imports may lead the rising number of car owners to question the assumption that imported lubricant products are generally better quality than their domestic counterparts.