system. While a lubricant also needs to perform other functions – not just reducing friction and protecting from component wear – generally, the thinner it is, the greater its ability to improve fuel economy.
Balancing the emissions equation All of which obviously has a big impact on your fleet’s emissions output. An increasingly important consideration given that heavy-duty trucking makes up just 1% of total fleet vehicles on the road worldwide, yet represents 25% of road emissions. This makes it important for fleets to fully understand the facts behind how these emissions are produced and measured in order to best deal with them moving forward.
Trucks emit both carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions as
well as tail pipe emissions (particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)). While CO2
emissions
often seem to take prominence in conversations surrounding decarbonisation, it is the latter – PM and NOx – that the industry-wide emission standards measure. But did you know that your lubricant choice can help minimise these emissions?
A vehicle’s CO2 emissions are measured through a
relatively complex set of equations that consider the amount of fuel consumed during different operating parameters during commercial vehicle operations. But, ultimately, the amount of CO2 emitted by a truck is dictated by its overall efficiency, proving the importance of lubricant choice alongside other operational decisions that have the potential to affect this output.2
Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO) To help simulate and determine the fuel consumption and CO2
emissions profile of different heavy-duty
vehicle designs across the European Union, the European Commission has created VECTO, which aims to support the industry in meeting new regulations that legislate for a 15% CO2
Not all oils are created equal To explore how a tool like VECTO may affect more than just truck manufacturers, let’s take a closer look at its potential impact on the world of lubrication. After all, lubricant is a core component of vehicle design that can help reduce fuel consumption while protecting components.
If a lubricant can provide even a 1% efficiency benefit, through lower viscometrics for example, this can support OEMs in meeting their own fuel efficiency requirements. As a result, there is a clear incentive for OEMs to make lubrication decisions that will support wider environmental legislation.
This is why European OEMs are increasingly moving towards even lower viscosity oils, since they have realised the fuel consumption benefits, they can offer. As these shifts become more widespread across the sector, engines, and other driveline components – such as transmissions and axles – eventually become redesigned to facilitate the new, more beneficial oil technology.
emissions
reduction by 2025, and 30% by 2030, compared to 2019-20 levels.
While for now, these are targeted at OEMs – driving them to produce more efficient vehicles – it is context that all industry professionals should be aware of
With lubrication as a key element of engine and component development, it becomes more important than ever for lubricant suppliers to develop products that meet the highest specifications – creating a virtuous cycle of product and technology development.
2 Amina Hamidi and Enrique Meroño. “How to decarbonize heavy-duty transport and make it affordable.” World Economic Forum. 16 August, 2021.
given its impact across the entire value chain. That may be in the form of lubricant suppliers, whose products must meet rising standards to be considered for usage, or fleet operators and managers, who may use the tool’s findings to purchase the most efficient vehicles available to them.
Covering five profiles for trucks and five for buses and coaches, VECTO virtually simulates the drive cycle of these vehicles based on various inputs, ranging from vehicle weight and aerodynamics to engine performance and gearbox friction. These manufacturer-specific inputs help build a picture of power consumption across each vehicle component. In turn, this helps OEMs determine the fuel consumption and CO2
emissions performance of
their heavy-duty vehicles across standardised driving cycles.
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LUBE MAGAZINE NO.189 OCTOBER 2025
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