LATEST trends in the LUBRICANT INDUSTRY

India is continuing to be the world’s third largest in fleet of vehicles on and off the road. This has taken India little over seven years see this increase of annual production to four million vehicles from three million a year earlier. However, the next milestone—five million—is expected to happen inside five years. Creating this mark is contributed by today’s rapid economic development continuing, with a projected annual GDP growth rate of 7 percent through the years, ongoing urbanizations, a flourishing pending class, and encouraging regulations and policies.

The size of the Indian lubricant market is estimated to be over USD 5 Billion with an approximate volume little greater than 3.0 million metric tonnes achieved through lubricants and allied product, finished and semi-finished. The cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) through these recent five years is being gauged numerical at 1.5%. This growth appearing to be modest in reference to other categories or industrial segments, with the reason an additional effort is always necessitated in the improvement of performance in the Lubricants.

Our industry has always been an epitome of advancements and new initiatives.

The emphasis of greener requirements has driven the development of ester based lubricant and biodegradable products. Newer developments are visibly seen in the direction of long drain and cost-effective synthetic and environmentally friendly fluids. With a prominent improvement of consumer knowledge towards fluids like grease, coolant, & brake fluids are seen in the industry insisting the development products offering longer milage and life.

Performance at optimum fuel consumption, reduce engine wear & tear, and operational cost efficiencies are key requirements of CV owners in India. For off-road CVs, the working conditions specifically the trucks/equipment engaged in agriculture and mining operations are subjected to severe/heavy loads, high power and dusty conditions demand a robust lubricating solution. Indian infrastructure, loading patterns, and long hauls demand lubrication solutions that suffices all the above requirements for on-road commercial vehicles.

Reducing fuel consumption, protecting engine and after treatment systems and improving biofuel compatibility are some of the key issues affecting heavy-duty diesel lubricant formulations. OEMs, lubricant, and additive technology provider must work jointly to ensure lubricants deliver not only fuel economy improvements, but also sufficient engine protection throughout their life in the crankcase.

Engine oils consumption will fade out for a Fully Electrified vehicles of future, however the EV’s will requires greases coolants, transmission fluids. The percentage of change over to EV will take time, the vehicle parc with ICE engines will continue to grow and be substantial for the lubricant industry. Our Onwo series of greases are already seeing application in motor components manufactured by OEMs we are associated with as well been acknowledged by fleet owners offering a longer milage ahead of our peers in the industry.

The Indian Government’s campaign into Bharat Stage VI and the implementation last April 2020 ensured the industry is adopting significant technological changes. Different limits are proposed for the diverse vehicle classes and subclasses within each class. The intention is that the adoption of the BS VI emission standards will essentially bring Indian motor vehicle regulations into alignment with the latest European Union Euro VI regulations.

Most vehicle manufacturers are imparting embed software in their vehicles to manage the complex system of hardware such as sensors, processors, and storage devices. This is a great opportunity for Indian IT and auto-component players, many of whom have started developing a global play to gain the first-mover advantage.

Raj Petro being a consistent player in the industry, specifically in industrial segment, is well positioned to cater to the demand with our strengths in technology, product superiority, and logistical setup. Our emphasis remains gaining the market share, offering distinct, improvised & custom-built products, add more ’value’ and ‘premium brand’ conscious customers, and expand our distribution network across both physical & digital platforms. We are also focusing on increasing our market shares in all possible avenues through a technically reliable & superior & cost-effective offering positioning our brand through our segment wise strategies.

To meet the climate goals, commercial vehicles are bound to reduce emissions by 80% over the coming years, as desired by various governmental policies across the globe. The Indian Union has set CO2 reduction targets of 15% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 for commercial vehicles. With both automatic and manual transmission prevalent in Indian roads, and gears structures inching towards hybrid forms, enforced a renewed formulation in lubricants, to endure changing rigorous conditions inside the hubs & casings, and require efficient filming over the tooth to improve their life with prologned the drain intervals through our advanced formulations ensuring a trouble-free operation.

The Indian CV industry continuing to exhibit resurgence post the massive pandemic in FY20 is remarkable & historic. During FY20, CVs sales volume after growing briskly in the last few years declined 29% y-o-y to 7.2 lakh units against selling more than 10 lakh units for the first time during FY19, as a series of events and factors hit the brakes on the industry growth. The industry is staring at further de-growth as Covid led economic downturn adds to the negative sentiment. With the CV industry thriving to grow, the emphasis on improved work efficiency, environmental contribution & reduced downtime, becomes the need of the hour and we in Raj Petro Specialities with our continuing knowledge and expertise and working towards to a customer delight with the range of futuristic lubrication solutions.

– Dr. Daya Shukla

Senior Director of R&D / Technology Raj Petro – A Brenntag Group Company

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