UKLA President’s Report
The recent announcement of the withdrawal of Stellantis from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) by year end, came as something of a surprise.
At the same time as announcing their exit, Stellantis also heralded the setting up of a ‘Freedom of Mobility’ Forum to widen the debate as to the future of automotive transportation which must have seemed at odds with ACEA’s policy position of an apparent wholesale and singular support for electric vehicles.
So is ACEA in danger of losing its way? Delays to the ACEA heavy duty engine oil sequences to 2022 and Toyota’s recent spearheading of the International Fluids Consortium (IFC) has highlighted shortcomings in how slow ACEA are to respond to market movements and how fast Far Eastern manufacturers are leading the way. If the IFC can respond more
UEIL President’s Report
Our industry - like many others in the manufacturing sector - has faced unprecedented challenges over the past years.
The global pandemic has had a significant impact on demand for the European lubricant market. Although all countries and product segments were affected, differences in the extent of the impact were evident - both at a geographical and segment level.
Similarly, there was a clear demand recovery for the European lubricant market, but the recovery pattern was not homogeneous - as some countries and segments registered a more robust surge in demand compared to others.
When looking at the official UEIL statistics for the 2021 European lubricant market - which will be available within short - overall the European lubricant market is on a recovery path, up from 2020 but still more than 5% below 2019 levels.
If we look at the three largest lubricant markets in the Euro area - Germany, France and Italy - only France approached pre-pandemic levels with a total market in 2021 barely 2% below 2019 levels, while Germany’s and Italy’s lubricant market was more than 10% below
4 LUBE MAGAZINE NO.170 AUGUST 2022
quickly to market movements driven on by Far Eastern manufacturers than ACEA, then where does this leave the European manufacturers association if not following in the wake of others?
In ACEA’s defence, if regulators are forcing the adoption of electric vehicles on consumers at an accelerated pace then shouldn’t this be their main policy focus? Well yes, but there will still be many fuelled vehicles for many years to come after 2030. Never mind the transportation needs of the heavy goods sector.
There is no doubt that electric vehicles are at centre stage in the light vehicle transportation landscape, but whether ACEA remains at centre stage in the automotive manufacturers’ arena remains to be seen.
Andrew Goddard, UKLA President
2019 levels. This is not surprising as Italy and Germany were among the countries where the lubricant industry was most severely impacted by the pandemic.
Another interesting aspect is the difference in recovery displayed by the different market segments, with industrial lubricants showing a better recovery compared to automotive lubricants. This reflects a disappointing performance of the EU automotive sector in 2021. Overall in 2021, sales of new cars in the EU fell by 2.4%, despite the record low level in 2020. This was mainly due to the semiconductor shortage negatively impacting car production.
To sum up, the European lubricant industry is on a recovery path but the way back presents many challenges and the outlook varies significantly depending on the market segment and geography. In such uncertain times it is therefore particularly important to have reliable data as a ground for business decisions and strategies. The official UEIL statistics including comments from European lubricant experts will be available in September and we believe that they will be a precious tool to be best prepared to face the future!
Valentina Serra-Holm, UEIL President
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