Lubricants Market: Current Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027)

Global demand of lubricants is growing at a moderate rate owing to saturated industrial sector and slow growth in automotive sector. However, during the past couple of decades automotive and industrial sectors were the key factors for the growth of lubricating oil market owing to the increasing industrialization across the globe and growing consumer purchasing power thus resulted in higher sales of automobiles. For instance, production of automobiles increased to 91.7 million in 2019 compared to 89.7 million in 2014. However, in 2020 production decreased to 77.6 million due to manufacturing shutdown in order to curtail the spread of COVID-19. However, rapid adoption of electric vehicles has opened the door for the lubricant manufacturers to focus on electric vehicles lubricants. Countries are focusing on electric vehicles to meet their net zero emission, for instance, according to EV-volumes, a total of 2.65 million EV's were sold during the first half of 2021, an increase of nearly 168% compared to 2020.

Based on base oil, the market is categorized into group I, group II, group III, group IV, and group V. Among these, Group II base oil accounted for the lucrative market share in 2020 and is likely to retain its position during the forecast period owing to its higher efficiency and lower emission relative to group I base oil. Further, industries are finding easy to transit from group I base oil to group II base oil by changing in work techniques, work with new base oil manufacturers, and changing equipment. As a result, penetration of lube oil has been increased in the industries.

Based on product type, the market is categorized into engine oil, general industrial oil, metalworking oil, grease, transmission and hydraulic fluid oil, gear oil, process oil, and others. Among these, engine oil category held the significant market share owing to large base of automobiles and increasing demand of automobiles in developing regions like Asia Pacific because of rising purchasing power of population. Further, increasing automotive emission regulation is expected to fuel the market of lubricants globally, as lubricant reduce wear and tear of equipment thus improving the performance of automobiles.

The automotive and other transportation category held the leading position in the market for lubricants, based on end use. This was due to the surging vehicle sales on account of the rising per capita income of people worldwide. According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, around 44.4 million were sold in first half of 2021 compared to 34.3 million vehicles in the same period of 2020. Moreover, the expanding mobility services sector is amplifying vehicle sales, thereby boosting the consumption of lubricants.

For a better understanding of the market adoption of lubricants, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in the countries such as North America (United States, Canada, and Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Itlay, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia and Rest of APAC), and Rest of World. Asia-Pacific held the dominating position in the global lubricants market and is expected to showcase considerable growth rate during the forecast period. This can be mainly attributed to the large and growing demand of automobiles and increasing industrial activities in countries like China, India, and ASEAN region.