Shell Lubricants has retained its status as the leading global supplier of finished lubricants for a 16th consecutive year, according to the 20th edition of Kline & Company’s report Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment 2021.

The report covers all leading lubricant consuming country markets, market segments, product types and formulations. Shell retains the number one ranking for all three lubricants categories tracked by Kline – consumer automotive, commercial automotive and industrial.

“Our continued leadership of the global lubricants and fluids sector reflects our success in growing our base business through a focus on higher value and premium products and differentiating products, whilst continuing to build unique commercial and technical relationships. We are now focused on transforming our business, from being the leading global lubricants supplier to be the leading lubricants and fluid solutions provider of tomorrow,” said Machteld de Haan, global executive vice president, Shell Lubricants.

According to the latest report, Shell maintained its leading global market share relative to the year prior, with a slight increase in market share (0.6%) over the next largest international oil company (IOC) supplier, up to 11.6%, resulting in its number one ranking.  

Shell’s total volume sold was approximately 4,500-4,700 kilotonnes of finished lubricants, equivalent to approximately 4.9-5.2 billion litres. These global sales were split between the three segments at a similar percentage split as the previous year: 36% industrial, 33% consumer automotive and 31% commercial automotive. 

Shell was one of the first to launch an E-fluids portfolio in 2019, demonstrating technological readiness and achieving early traction with OEMs. Today, Shell E-fluids improve the reliability, efficiency and performance of electric powertrains. The business is now focusing on new fluids and a broader set of fluid management solutions, extending into thermal management of batteries, data centres, clean power and life sciences.