Lubricant major Castrol, a subsidiary of British Petroleum, has moved its global two-wheeler lubricant product development centre to India. Castrol holds 22% of the Rs. 15,000-crore Indian lubricant market, which is mainly dominated by public sector firms.
“India is one of the largest markets for Castrol. The global two-wheeler lubricant research team has shifted to the Mumbai R&D centre,” Ravi Kirpalani, chief operating officer, Castrol India told Hindustan Times.
India, the largest two-wheeler market with 13.4 million sales last year, is estimated to cross 20 million in sales by 2015-16.
Global majors like Castrol and Shell have stepped up their operations with a high degree of specialisation and brand promotion to compete with well entrenched PSUs. For instance, Castrol recently launched gearless scooter specific engine oil, a first for India.
The firm invests 6-7% of its sales in brand promotion.