Automotive Lubricants Market Size, Share, Opportunities, And Trends By Product Type (Engine Oil, Transmission And Gear Oils, Hydraulic Fluids, Greases), By Application (Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Motorcycles), And Geography - Forecasts From 2024 To 2029

The global automotive lubricant market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.72% during the forecast period. 

Automotive lubricants are responsible for providing efficient lubrication for automotive parts, which reduces friction in vehicles. This lubrication also serves many secondary functions, such as cleaning and cooling down engine parts by preventing the build-up of rust and corrosion. These automotive lubricants are known to be solid, oil-based, plastic, or a combination of all three. Oil and grease are the most common lubricants.

The major factor driving the market of automotive lubricants is technological advancements, which are leading towards the development of new lubricants that are efficient and capable of withstanding high temperatures and higher pressures, propelling market growth. One of the imperative advancements in lubricant technology is its ability to withstand higher temperatures and pressure. This enables the effective use of lubricants in high-performance applications where the conventional lubricants are failing or require frequent replacement.

GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE LUBRICANT MARKET DRIVERS:

• Increasing Usage of Engine Oils

Engine oils efficiently lubricate internal combustion engines in different types of automobiles. They are also used in various other applications, such as corrosion protection and wear reduction, and effectively ensure the smooth operation of the engine internals.

Germany is expected to hold a prominent share in the automobile manufacturing industry in the European region as it hosts major car-making brands such as Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, etc. With such major hosts in car making, the country and region have been investing exceedingly in research and development activities, further resulting in the increasing automotive production in the country. According to the Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), German automobile manufacturers began producing over 15.6 million vehicles in 2021. This made Germany the European car production leader, with the production of 3.1 million passenger cars and 351,000 commercial vehicles, which were further manufactured in the German plant.

Furthermore, general car sales in the country have decreased while electric vehicle registrations have increased, which is further supported by the government’s push towards all-electric cars by 2024.

Global Automotive Lubricant Market Geographical Outlook

• The Asia Pacific region will dominate the global automotive lubricant market during the forecast period.

The major economies like China, Japan, India, and South Korea dominate the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the fastest-growing emerging economies are from this region, such as ASEAN countries.

Various factors are driving the automotive lubricant market growth in the APAC region, such as the increasing population resulting in the rising production and sales of vehicles, particularly passenger vehicles. China, in this regard, is known to be the largest automotive lubricant consumer in APAC, playing a pivotal role in its increasing production and sale of vehicles.

According to the data provided by the OICA, in 2023, China produced 26,123,767 cars, of which 4,037,209 were commercial vehicles. India produced 4,783,628 cars, of which 1,067,878 were commercial vehicles.

Global automotive lubricant market restraints:

• Innovation in-vehicle technologies is regarded as one challenging factor that will restrain the automotive lubricant market growth, as automotive lubricants are efficiently known to reduce the lifespan of a vehicle by playing a role in reducing friction between the movement of two solid parts. However, as there has been an improvement in the lubricants and technologies, the growth has decreased. With the increasing use of synthetic lubricants for improved fuel efficiency, vehicle oil drain intervals have extended from 6-12 months to 18-24 months.

The global automotive lubricant market is segmented by product type into engine oil, transmission and gear oils, hydraulic fluids, and greases.

Automotive lubricants are broadly applied in engine oil and transmission and gear oils. With the growing economies of Asia and Africa, the demand for hydraulic fluids and greases is also increasing, thus driving the market's growth.

Global automotive lubricant market key developments:

• In July 2024, TotalEnergies acquired Tecoil, a Finnish company specializing in the production of Re-Refined Base Oils (RRBOs).  Tecoil currently operates a production facility of 50,000 tons of RRBOs per year in Haminia. The integration of Tecoil in TotalEnergies will accelerate the use of RRB0s in producing high-end lubricants to meet the growing customers for increasingly high-performance, environment-friendly products.
• In May 2023, ExxonMobil, which is known to be a major company in the automotive lubricant market, announced its plan to make the final investment in India’s future in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to build a lubricant-manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, India. This plan incorporated an investment of INR 900 crore (US$ 110 million). It can potentially manufacture 159,000 kiloliters of finished lubricants a year, which will further begin its operations at the end of 2025.
• In August 2022, Valvoline announced an agreement to sell the global products business for $2.65 billion in cash. This agreement and transaction will efficiently complete the separation of global products and retail services businesses, transforming Valvoline into a pure-play automotive service with a target of 20% + earnings per share growth.
• In July 2022, Shell USA Incorporation and Shell Midstream Partners L.P. announced a merger agreement under which Shell USA will acquire all the common units representing limited partner interests in SHLX, with a total value of approximately USD 1.96 billion. 

The global automotive lubricant market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

• By Product Type
  • Engine Oil
  • Transmission and Gear Oils
  • Hydraulic Fluids
  • Greases
• By Vehicle Type
  • Passenger Vehicles
  • Commercial Vehicles
  • Motorcycles
• By Geography
  • North America
    • USA
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Rest of South America
  • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Rest of Europe
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • UAE
    • Rest of the Middle East and Africa
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Indonesia
    • Rest of Asia-Pacific