Exclusive: Motul India Plans New Manufacturing Line To Support Growth

Motul India is looking to add a new manufacturing line through a dedicated manufacturing partner in the country, as the lubricant maker prepares for continued growth after doubling its volumes over the last four years.

Nagendra Pai, Chief Executive Officer, Motul India & South Asia, said the company expects to grow at 10-15% annually over the next four years and will need additional capacity to support that expansion. The proposed facility will not be a generic third-party arrangement, he said, but a dedicated manufacturing set-up for Motul.

“We are looking at a manufacturing partner. It will be a completely new line and will cater to the growth that we are expecting,” Pai told Autocar Professional in an interview. 

Pai said Motul will continue to control raw material sourcing, vendor pricing and formulations. The partner’s role will largely be to convert Motul’s formulations into finished products.

“It is always a dedicated plant for us. Motul will control everything. All raw materials will come from Motul vendors, at Motul prices, and the formulation will be ours,” he said.

Largest Market

The capacity plan comes as India has become Motul’s single-largest market globally by volume. Pai said the parent company now looks at India as a separate strategic market, rather than clubbing it with the rest of Asia.

“Today, India is the single-largest country for Motul. Our volumes are at a level where we cannot be ignored. India is looked at separately now. India and then the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America,” Pai said.

Motul India’s growth has accelerated after the Covid period. Pai said the company has doubled volumes over the last four years, while both volume and revenue have grown at around 15% CAGR during this period.

The growth, he said, has been driven by two key factors: wider distribution and products developed for Indian usage conditions. Motul has expanded its network from around 20,000-25,000 retail outlets earlier to about 70,000 outlets across urban India, besides another 15,000-20,000 outlets in rural markets.

Motul India sells lubricants and fluids across two-wheelers, scooters, passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial applications, with products ranging from engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids and coolants to vehicle care, maintenance products and chemical/additive solutions. 

Top-three Ambition

Motul wants to be among the top three lubricant players in the aftermarket by 2030, but Pai said the company will not chase volume at the cost of profitability.

“We are not in the rat race of just volume. We want to be in the top three in the aftermarket by 2030, but we want to be profitable,” he said.

Pai said Motul’s focus will remain on differentiated and innovation-led growth. This includes sustainable lubricants, products made from re-refined base oils, and lubricants suited for future fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen.

He said the company would rather build technology-led differentiation than compete only on price in categories that are becoming increasingly commoditised.

Sales Mix Shift

Motul India is still largely a two-wheeler-led business, but its sales mix is changing. Pai said two-wheelers currently account for around 60-65% of sales, while passenger cars contribute 20-25%. Commercial vehicles account for around 7-8%.

Four years ago, two-wheelers accounted for about 80% of the mix. The share has come down as the car lubricant business has grown strongly.

Pai expects the car business to grow faster over the coming years, supported by India-specific products. He said Motul has developed lubricant ranges suited for Indian cars, engine sizes and usage conditions, rather than simply bringing international products to the market.

“Just bringing international products into India is not going to work. Our cars are different, engine sizes are different, and usage is different. For example, mileage is more important to Indian consumers,” he said.

Multi-powertrain Future

Motul is also preparing for a market where multiple technologies coexist. Pai said India’s transition will not be led by one solution alone, which means the company has to be ready for hybrids, ethanol blends, biodiesel, hydrogen and electric vehicles.

“At this point, we believe there will be a lot of alternate solutions. It is not going to be one solution. Our strategy is to be ready for everything,” he said.

The company is working on a product range for hybrids and is preparing lubricants for higher ethanol blends. Pai said Motul is readying products for E27-compliant vehicles and will be prepared for even higher blends such as E80 if the market moves in that direction.

He added that diesel could also see biodiesel blending in the future, and Motul will be ready with products if the government moves towards that pathway.

On electric vehicles, Pai said the immediate lubricant aftermarket opportunity is limited, but cooling solutions could become relevant. Motul is working with a large Indian commercial vehicle OEM on EV cooling applications. The company is also testing products for data-centre cooling, which Pai described as a large opportunity.

New Growth Areas

Motul is also betting on vehicle care and additives as a new growth engine. Pai said the company has launched nearly 35 products in this portfolio and is seeing strong traction.

The company is looking at India not only as a market for vehicle care products, but also as a possible manufacturing hub for other Asian markets. Pai said manufacturing costs in India are lower, and the company sees scope to export vehicle care and additive products from India.

“As far as the care and additive portfolio is concerned, manufacturing is happening in India for India. We are also looking at whether India can become a manufacturing hub for other markets in Asia,” he said.

Acharya added that Motul is also seeing strong traction for care and additive products on e-commerce platforms, although online sales remain a single-digit share of overall sales. Traditional retail, garages and workshops continue to drive the bulk of sales.

Retail Footprint Expands Beyond Cities

Distribution has been one of the biggest growth levers for Motul India. Pai said the company has sharply expanded its urban presence and has begun building rural reach over the last two years.

Rural markets now contribute around 10% of Motul India’s sales and are expected to grow further. The company currently reaches around 15,000-20,000 rural outlets, in addition to its large urban network.

Milind Acharya, Chief Marketing Officer, Motul India & South Asia, said the company’s next leg of distribution growth will come from rural India. He said Motul is also expanding its garage programme to smaller mechanics and workshops, especially to gain deeper access to the entry-level two-wheeler segment.

The company works with around 7,000 garages across the motorcycle and passenger vehicle segments. Acharya said garage engagement, rider communities and mass-media advertising will remain the three pillars of Motul’s marketing strategy.

West Asia Crisis

Motul India is relatively better placed on supply-chain risk because around 90% of its raw materials are sourced locally, Pai said. This has helped the company manage global disruptions better than players more dependent on imported base oils and overseas supply chains.

The West Asia crisis, however, remains a risk because it can disrupt crude supply, shipping routes and base oil availability. Pai said lubricant companies dependent on international base oil sources are already facing pressure due to shipping delays.

“If you are dependent on any other source of supply for your base oil in the current scenario, then you are in a difficult situation. Some multinational competitors are in that zone,” Pai said.

He added that local sourcing and long-term contracts with Indian suppliers provide Motul with better stability. But if crude supply to India itself is disrupted, the impact would become unavoidable for the entire industry.

“If crude itself does not come to India from any source, then it becomes a force majeure-like situation for everybody,” he said.

For Motul, the next phase in India will therefore be about scaling capacity, deepening rural reach, growing the car and care portfolios, and preparing for a future where internal combustion engines, hybrids, biofuels, hydrogen and EV cooling technologies all coexist.