Russian lubricant producers supplied 65 percent of heavy-duty engine oils used in the country in 2018, while foreign marketers and original equipment manufacturers supplied 28 percent and 7 percent, respectively, a consultancy found.
Lukoil and Gazmpromneft are the largest truck engine oil marketers in the country and last year they each held about 20 to 25 percent of the market, according to Autostat. Oil major Rosneft held a 15 to 20 percent of the market, while Shell and ExxonMobil had around 5 to 10 percent of the market each. Several lubricant companies had a share of around 1 to 5 percent each, including Fuchs, Total, Chevron, BP-Castrol, Petro-Canada, Ashland Netherlands, SK Lubricants, Delfin Group and others. More than 60 other companies had shares of less than 1 percent.
The consultancy also found that Lukoil, Gazpromneft, Rosneft, Castrol, ExxonMobil and Shell had the most distributors. For example, Rosneft had 85 regional distributors of heavy-duty engine oils located in 63 cities, Gazprom had 80 regional distributors in 68 cities and Lukoil had 74 regional distributors in 58 cities. Castrols oils for heavy-duty truck engines were available at 59 regional distributors in 82 cities.
The Russian heavy-duty vehicles market is characterized primarily by vehicles of over 20 years of use, without much replacement of older vehicles by newer ones. The use of obsolete specifications standards for engine oils is common, while domestic producers dominate the market, the consultancy found.
Autostat observed low growth rates and development for the Russian heavy-duty engine oil market, which is dominated by domestic manufacturers. The sales system is multileveled, multi-channeled, with specific approach to the prices, Victor Pushkarev, the consultancys head of projects, said, adding that heavy-duty oil consumption is dictated by the vehicle type, how the vehicle is used and how well it is maintained.
Autostat, a Moscow-based consultancy in the automotive sector, found that there were 2.7 million on-road heavy-duty vehicles in Russia in 2018. The number is up 4 percent compared to the year before.
In its research, the consultancy uses its online analytical system, Radar, and sources from the automotive and lubricant manufacturing companies.
Seventy-seven percent of the Russian truck fleet consists of domestic brands, while 23 percent are foreign brands and 60 percent of the total fleet are trucks that use obsolete specifications oils, Pushkarev told GBCs CIS Base Oils and Lubricants conference held here in May.
According to Pushkarev, around 82,000 new trucks were registered in Russia in 2018. Of the domestic brands, 64 percent are on-road trucks of over 20 years of use, while of the total foreign-branded on-road trucks, 25 percent are trucks of over 20 years old. Around 4 percent of the domestic on-road heavy-duty vehicles were one to three years old, while 10 percent of the foreign-branded trucks were one to three years old, he said.
Autostat also found that 47 percent of the Russian truck fleet are owned by individual owners, while corporate entities controlled the remaining 53 percent.