Strong Demand in Asia-Pacific to Drive Automotive Lubricant Market Demand

A new market study by US-based The Freedonia Group, has forecast the global automotive lubricant demand to rise 1.6% per year through 2021. “Strong economic growth in developing economies will lead to increased agricultural and mining output, as well as rising construction activity, which in turn will drive strong gains in off-highway automotive lubricants,” the report stated.

Automotive lubricant demand in the world’s fastest regional market – Asia-Pacific – is expected to increase 3.2% per annum to 11.0 million metric tons by 2021. The major factors contributing to the growth rate were identified as:

Continued increases in the region’s light vehicle and medium and heavy truck and bus parcs (vehicle population).
Increase in construction activity across the region.
Acceleration in the agriculture sector due to a regional trend of increasing use of tractors in the farming industry.
Increase in regional motorcycle parc.
Electric vehicles are viewed by China and other countries (such as Germany, Japan, and Norway) as an effective means of meeting climate change commitments and reducing air pollution. Additionally, electric vehicles are expected to be the basis for new, autonomous driving systems being developed by a number of companies. “However, through 2021 their impact on automotive lubricant demand will remain limited due to the size of the existing electric vehicle park and the challenges of expanding their presence in the market without significant subsidies. This will change over the long term, though, as electric vehicles become a bigger part of the market,” the report noted.