Policy And Technology Drive Green Transition: Brake Pad Industry Embraces New Wave, Shandong Huaruifeng Leads Local Enterprises' Breakthrough
With the upgrading of global environmental regulations and the explosive growth of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, China's brake pad industry is undergoing a structural transformation centered on "greenization, intelligence, and high-endization." The latest industry data shows that China's brake pad market size is expected to exceed 70.5 billion yuan in 2026, with environmentally friendly asbestos-free products accounting for over 68% and the demand for NEV-specific brake pads growing at an annual rate of 18%, marking an unprecedented period of development opportunities and transformation challenges for the industry.
Policy Intensification Raises Industry Thresholds, Green Transition Becomes a Must
Tightening environmental policies worldwide are reshaping the industry's competitive landscape. The mandatory brake dust emission standards implemented by the EU in 2026, combined with China's "Green Manufacturing Action Plan for Auto Parts (2024–2026)," clearly require that the proportion of low-copper and copper-free friction materials used in brake pads for new light vehicles shall not be less than 75% by 2026. Meanwhile, the implementation of the updated mandatory national standard GB5763-2024 "Brake Linings for Automobiles" has raised higher requirements for friction coefficient stability, wear rate, and environmental indicators, accelerating the withdrawal of low-quality production capacity.
Driven by policies, the industry is accelerating its transition to environmentally friendly formulas such as asbestos-free, low-metal, and ceramic composites. Data indicates that the market size of China's environmentally friendly asbestos-free brake pads reached 18.67 billion yuan in 2025, maintaining a compound annual growth rate of over 12%, and is expected to exceed 32 billion yuan by 2030. Among these, ceramic matrix composites have become the mainstream choice in the high-end market, leveraging their core advantages of low dust, low noise, and high-temperature resistance. Their penetration rate in the NEV sector has rapidly increased from 15% in 2025 to over 30%.
Technological Innovation Restructures Competitive Landscape, Local Enterprises Break Core Barriers
The rapid popularization of NEVs has brought opportunities for technological innovation in the industry. The regenerative braking systems of electric vehicles result in increased single-load stress on mechanical brakes, imposing new requirements on the thermal stability and wear resistance of brake pads. This has driven the industry's upgrade from traditional materials to high-performance composites. In 2025, the total R&D investment in the industry reached 4.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%, with 62% of the funds focused on the development of environmentally friendly friction materials.
Intelligence and digitalization have become key directions for technological upgrading. Leading enterprises are actively deploying smart manufacturing. Through the application of MES systems and digital testing equipment, they have controlled product defect rates below 0.3% and shortened new product development cycles to 9 months. Shandong, as a core demand region for commercial vehicle brake pads, contributes 1.47 billion yuan to the national market scale. Local enterprises are accelerating technological breakthroughs by leveraging regional industrial advantages. With years of deep cultivation in the industry, Shandong Huaruifeng Machinery Co., Ltd. has kept pace with industry trends and achieved mass production of ceramic fiber-reinforced composite materials. Its independently developed low-copper formula brake pads feature a stable friction coefficient of 0.32±0.03, a thermal fade rate controlled below 5%, and a wear life 35% longer than traditional products. The company has obtained certifications from the mutual recognition program between China's GB standard and the US SAE standard, fully adapting to the needs of new energy commercial vehicles and high-end passenger cars.
Optimized Market Structure, Aftermarket and Exports as Twin Growth Engines
China's 340 million vehicle ownership has built a huge replacement demand market. In 2025, the replacement volume of brake pads in the aftermarket reached 489 million sets, accounting for 68.4% of total sales, and is expected to further increase to 521 million sets in 2026, with the market size exceeding 43.7 billion yuan. Benefiting from the expansion of the logistics industry and the implementation of mandatory maintenance systems, the replacement cycle of brake pads in the commercial vehicle sector has shortened from 30,000 kilometers to 25,000 kilometers, becoming a core growth driver in the aftermarket.
The export market has also performed impressively. Supported by the Belt and Road Initiative and the expansion of cross-border e-commerce channels, the export volume of China's asbestos-free brake pads increased by 28% year-on-year in 2025, with emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East becoming major sources of growth. Leveraging its cost-performance advantage and compliance strengths, Shandong Huaruifeng has successfully entered the Southeast Asian commercial vehicle aftermarket. Its customized solutions, optimized for tropical climates and heavy-load working conditions, command a 70% premium over standard products, making it a typical example of local enterprises "going global."
Industry Outlook: Differentiated Competition Amid Rising Concentration
Over the next five years, the concentration of the brake pad industry will continue to increase, with the CR5 expected to rise from the current 38% to 55%. Mergers, acquisitions, and technology alliances will become mainstream industry trends. For local enterprises, focusing on niche scenarios, strengthening core technologies, and building resilient supply chains are key to breaking through. A relevant person in charge of Shandong Huaruifeng Machinery Co., Ltd. stated that the company will continue to increase R&D investment, focusing on cutting-edge areas such as carbon-ceramic composite materials and intelligent wear monitoring systems. It will also expand into specialized markets such as industrial and mining vehicles and special equipment, responding to industry changes with technological innovation and scenario-based solutions, and providing safer, more environmentally friendly, and efficient braking products to global customers.
Industry experts point out that driven by policies, technological iteration, and market demand, the brake pad industry is moving away from the extensive development stage of "scale expansion" and entering a high-quality development cycle prioritizing "quality and efficiency." Enterprises with the capability to develop environmentally friendly formulas, intelligent production levels, and global service networks will seize opportunities in the new round of industry restructuring, promoting China's brake pad industry from a "manufacturing power" to a "manufacturing powerhouse."
