ExxonMobil is working to reposition its Mobil brand in some South American countries, including Argentina where it recently signed Cosans Moove to serve as distributor.
Moove re-launched the Mobil brand in Argentina last week, communication manager Camila Fiasqui told Lube Report on Friday. She added that Moove aims to increase its overall earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 25 percent this year and by 100 percent by 2022.
The new Mobil campaign slogan under Moove is “If there is movement, there is Mobil.” ExxonMobil wants to increase its lube product offerings in the region to cover cars, motorcycles and other transportation modes, including rockets for space travel.
ExxonMobil currently has only a sliver of Argentina’s market, according to Brazilian consultancy LubeKem. YPF, Shell, Total and Pan American Energy supply more than 80 percent of demand, said Claudio Silva, executive director for the firm.
“YPF supplies the most lubricants, with more than 40 percent of market share, followed by Shell with more than 20 percent. As for Mobil, it accounted for 3 percent of market share in 2018 and dropped to nearly zero in the first [half] of 2019,” Silva told Lube Report.
To regain market share, Mobil now has a total of 11 distributors throughout Argentina offering a variety of products. Among them are Mobil Delvac for trucks and agricultural machinery, Mobil Super for cars, Mobil Super Moto for motorcycles and Mobil industrial lubricants and greases.
Silva said it is not the easiest time to try to grab market share, considering the current state of the economy in Argentina and the political uncertainty stemming from the presidential election coming up in October.
“Due to the ongoing recession, elevated inflation resulting in the high cost of borrowing, and reduced public investment weighing in on domestic demand, the market outlook for lubricants in Argentina is worrying, at best,” he said. In 2018, the lubricant market fell over 12 percent year over year, and LubeKem expects a fall of more than 20 percent in 2019.
The country’s auto industry produced 182,828 units from January to July, down 36 percent from the same period of 2018, while sales and exports fell 52 percent and 13 percent to 226,322 and 127,599 units, respectively, according to automobile fleet and mobility news service Global Fleet.
Moove began operations in 2008 after acquiring ExxonMobil’s assets in Brazil. The company then expanded its international operations in 2017 by acquiring exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Mobil lubricants in the country.
Moove is a subsidiary of Cosan, one of Brazils largest business groups with activities in agribusiness, fuel, natural gas distribution, lubricants and logistics. Moove has lubricant factories in Rio de Janeiro and in Kent, United Kingdom.