Comments
The Netherlands-based Shell’s Indian subsidiary, Shell Lubricants India, targets to double its market share in the lubricants space in the next three years.
The company is the technical partner of Formula 1’s Ferrari team, which is going to race this weekend in Noida.
“We have a goal to double our market share in India in the next three years and consequently we are investing heavily in India. It is one of our top five focus markets,” Nitin Prasad, Country Head of Shell Lubricants, told Business Line .
Shell is focusing to extend its tie-ups with vehicle manufacturers.
Unique oil
Prasad said that Shell is developing a unique oil that fits specifically to a particular brand of car. This would be beneficial to customers because it would improve maximum fuel efficiency and offer better protection to vehicles.
Shell Lubricants India already has tie-ups with Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. “We are expanding the list,” he said.
The company is also expanding its supply chain. “In this, we have a global network of manufacturing points. We are investing in our local supply chain and branding,” Prasad said.
Lubricants market
The overall lubricants market in India is about 2.5 billion litres.
“The market is complicated because there are several segments - industrial, rubber and automotive oils. And in some parts [segments], we choose not to compete. The parts where we compete, we believe we have around 10-15 per cent market share. This includes parts of automotive and industrial segments,” Prasad added.
Recently, Shell showcased India in its global campaign. Local images of trucks and drivers have been included in the marketing exercise that is displayed globally.
Shell, which claims to be the leading player in lubricants space globally, has strong presence in the US, Europe and China. “We have our focus in BRIC countries,” Prasad said.
Benefits from Formula 1
F1 has lot of business benefits overall, which cannot be measured in pure dollars, he said.
According to Shell, the primary benefit is technological partnership. “We have an opportunity to try all our new fuels on the race track, and offer them to the market. It gives us a competitive advantage,” Prasad said.
Other benefits include brand recognition and a connection to the customers. Companies such as Tata or Hyundai can understand the capabilities and look for tie ups to us, he added.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.