The motor oil market in the country is characterized by sluggish growth, where only synthetics have shown some growth, Head of Projects Victor Pushkarev told GBCs CIS Base Oils and Lubricants conference held here in May. The market is also characterized by increased competition between the domestic and foreign lubricant makers.

Using Radar, its online survey system for motor oil consumption in different vehicle categories, Autostat expects positive growth in 2017 and 2018. For each year it expects up to 2.5 percent growth for demand of passenger car motor oils, up to 3.5 percent growth for oils used in light commercial vehicles and up to 1 percent growth for oils used in heavy-duty vehicles and buses.

Since 2015, Radar has also been active in the neighboring countries of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, both of which have engine oil markets that have stagnated in the past couple years. Ukraine consumed 135 million liters of on-road motor oils in 2016, and 136 million liters the year before, whereas Kazakhstan consumed 42 million liters in 2016 and the same volume in 2015.

In Russia, 232 million liters of motor oils were consumed by passenger cars last year, 53 million liters by light commercial vehicles, 135 million liters by heavy-duty trucks and 15 million liters by busses. In Ukraine, the passenger cars consumed 54 million liters, light commercial vehicles consumed 19 million liters, heavy-duty trucks consumed 55 million liters and busses consumed 7 million liters. In Kazakhstan, passenger cars consumed 20 million liters, light commercial vehicles 4 million liters, heavy-duty trucks 16 million liters and busses 2 million liters.

Of the 435 million liters of motor oils consumed in Russia last year, 55 percent were manufactured in the country, while 45 percent where imported. Autostat also found that a significant portion of the motor oils consumed in both countries were imported from Russia. Of the 135 million liters of demand in Ukraine, 37 percent was imported from its biggest neighbor, Pushkarev said, adding that around 86 percent of Kazakhstans demand was imported from Russia.

A total of 197 different motor oil brands were sold in Russia in 2016, according to the consultancy. Of these, 24 products were original equipment manufacturer- branded oils, while 12 brands were owned by domestic marketers.

Autostat found that during January and February 2017, Moscow points of sale offered 67 motor oil brands, including 35 imports, 12 owned by domestic oil companies and 20 OEM brands. During the same period, the Saint Petersburg had 73 brands, 48 of which were imported compared to nine domestic oil marketer brands and 16 OEM brands. The selection of brands offered in other big Russian cities, such as Rostov-on-Don, Samara or Ekaterinburg, was lower – between 20 and 30.

The most prominent motor oil brand offered in Moscow points of sale is Mobil, followed by Lukoil, LiquiMoly and Castrol, Pushkarev said.

Product price wise, the average retail price difference between imported and Russian-made semi-synthetic motor oils have become wider in the last couple of years, compared to the average retail price gap between imported synthetics and domestic products, according to the consultancy.

In semi-synthetic motor oil product segment, domestic marketers have won a significant competitive advantage, while in the fully synthetic product segment, the price gap between imports and Russian motor is not that large, Pushkarev concluded.