Repsol is targeting five per cent share of the Indian auto market by 2020.
Story by:
Ashish Bhatia
Identifying an opportunity to carve out a sizeable market share despite fierce competition in the Indian automotive lubricant space, GP Petroleum Ltd. has introduced the Repsol brand of automotive lubricants in India. Bullish about the Indian market, which is also the world’s third largest lubricant market with a market size of 2.5 billion litres, GP Petroleum, aware of the fact that the demand for lubes in India is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.3 per cent, has introduced two-wheeler lubes at present, but with a firm roadmap that would include introduction of passenger and commercial vehicle lubes in the next two months. Positioning itself to grab a good chunk of the Indian automotive lubes market, GP Petroleum, a subsidiary of UAE-based Gulf Petrochem Group, announced its intention to enter the Indian market in association with Repsol of Spain last year.
Set to sell the entire Repsol automotive product portfolio in India, GP Petroleum, rather than venturing on its own found it viable to join hands with Repsol to enter the competitive auto lubes market. Said Hari Prakash, Chief Executive Officer, GP Petroleum, that it was its popular flagship industrial lubricant Ipol that constituted 90 per cent of the company’s revenue until recently. To foray into the automotive lubricant space, it could either have worked out by research and development of lubes to find a place as an automotive lubricant player, cashing in on the popularity of Ipol. “We chose to engage with Repsol. By opting for Repsol and continuing to simultaneously drive the Ipol brand proved to be a good tactical move. We will begin operations at Mumbai and Jaipur before rolling out a pan India presence,” announced Prakash. S Thangapandan, Executive Director, Gulf Petrochem, “We saw the need to look beyond industrial lubricants. We set ourselves a target of achieving five per cent of the automotive lubricant market by 2020. We are at three per cent in the industrial segment currently.”
Mentioning that a dedicated team and network would be established to serve the Repsol brand of lubes, Sudhir Goel, Managing Director, Gulf Petrochem Group, mentioned that GP Petroleum would be manufacturing Repsol lubricants at its existing units in Vasai and Daman. Another unit capable of holding 100,000-tonne is on the outskirts of Pipavav (Gujarat). Known to have been built with an investment of Rs.125 crore, it is likely to be commissioned by the year end. Exclaimed Carlos Pascaul, International Manager Lubricants-Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Repsol, “we are an established European brand found in international markets.” With a 6000 strong global dealer network and six refineries, the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO TS 18001 and OSHAS 18001 company credits itself with specialisation in deep water exploration for hydrocarbons. Highlighted Pascaul that the differentiating factor for the company was its intense R&D and association with marquee events like Moto GP where it can boast of a deep association with credible teams like Honda. Positioning Repsol in the premium segment, the challenge according to Pascaul will be to manufacture and sell Repsol in India. Describing the move to enter India as strategic, Pascaul averred, “Partnering with GP Petroleums Ltd, has given us a first hand advantage. By combining our strengths we can extend our capabilities to globally distribute a wider variety of products.” In India this would mean a significant leap into the newly emerging premium and top end segment across markets in the country.
Working towards the launch of CV lubes after passenger vehicle lubes post the introduction of two-wheeler lubes, for the year 2016, the company would unveil a wide range of lubes in the Indian market, including synthetic, synthetic blend and premium mineral based oils. In Phase two, Repsol Elite Neo XTI 5W-40 and API SN-fully synthetic oil will be launched to serve the needs of passenger vehicles. For CVs, the lube range would comprise of Repsol Diesel Turbo THPD MID SAPS XTI 15W-40 and PICJ4.
