As reported in Jobbers World Aug. 26, Castrol has advised its marketers it decided not to officially license its Edge and Syntech motor oils as Dexos-approved, though it will guarantee their performance in GM gasoline engines thatcall fora Dexos 1 engine oil. Castrol did not return Lube Reports phone calls requesting comment.

GM in July announced that Shell oils were licensed for Dexos. Meanwhile Valvoline, a division of Ashland, stated it would not offer Dexos-licensed oils, to minimize the cost impact to customers who would be replacing GF-4 motor oils with Dexos motor oils. Valvoline said it plans to introduce a product that meets the Dexos 1 specification in the fall.

A Kline and Co. study estimated consumer automotive lubricants consumption in the United States at 586 million gallons in 2009, valued at nearly $5.1 billion. According to Kline, the leading suppliers are Shell with 24 percent market share, Valvoline and BP Castrol, each with 13 percent, and ExxonMobil at 9 percent. Thus motor oil suppliers with 33 percent of the U.S. market – Shell and ExxonMobil – are going with Dexos licenses, while suppliers with 26 percent of the market – Castrol and Valvoline – have said no, at least for now.

Dexos 2, designed for use in passenger car diesel engines, launched last year in Europe. Its gasoline-fueled counterpart, Dexos 1, will be available globally for GMs 2011 model year vehicles. The Dexos specifications use performance tests from ILSAC and Europes ACEA, along with some proprietary GM tests. (GM calls its trademarked specification dexos.)