Addressing the changing demands
of motorcycle lubricants Nick Burton, EMEA Market Manager for Small Engines at Infineum, discusses the increasingly complex world of motorcycles and how the challenges in this market are being tackled by the lubricant industry.
The value of the global motorcycle industry was calculated to be worth in excess of $61.5bn in 2013, and has boasted a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% over the previous five years, according to the Motorcycle Industry Association.
The latest figures show that this trend has continued in the past year, with a total of 1,099,000 powered-two-wheel (PTW) vehicles registered In the EU alone in 2014. Thus it is clear that the motorcycle is a mode of transport growing in popularity across the globe, and yet its uses are distinctly different across different regions.
In North America, the motorbike remains a predominantly leisure-user market, where well-recognised, traditional names like Harley Davidson continue to lead the way. Meanwhile, in the markets of Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa, two wheelers are primarily used as an everyday mode of transport.
These varying uses of motorcycles are responsible for the growing complexities of lubricant development for the sector, where both OEMs and additive manufacturers are working to provide tailored solutions.
Balancing efficiency and economy These diverging growth and usage requirements really split the market in two. In Asia, Latin America and Africa end users are demanding low running costs and improved fuel economy to save money, and OEMs are driving fuel economy improvements to capture sales. Yet in the US and Europe motorcycle users are now expecting their lubricants to help keep their machines reliably on the road for longer.
These expectations are reflected in lubricant marketing, which would previously have been around power and performance but has now shifted to messages around protection and fuel economy.
Continued on page 16 14 LUBE MAGAZINE NO.127 JUNE 2015
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