Gulf Oil Lubricants planning to enter the two wheeler battery market

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited (GOL)- a renown automotive and industrial lubricant brand from Hinduja Group is now planning to expand its sector with entering the two wheeler battery market. Currently, the company is inspecting the segment by test marketing of imported two wheeler batteries through its retail outlets across India.

 

 

 

 

GOL managing director, Ravi Chawla, said, “We are examining this segment more for synergy of our channel sales.” He also added that the annual size of the motorcycle batteries market in the country was estimated at Rs. 5,000 crore.

 

 

After demerging from the Gulf Oil Corporation, GOL is also working on new and more advance lubrication products for both two-wheeler and four-wheeler segment. Currently, 21 percent of the total business of the company comes from the auto sector including 15 percent from the two-wheeler and 6 percent from the four-wheeler lubricant market. The company is also doing efforts to increase its presence in the rural market through advertising, which at present, gives 10 percent of its turnover. Currently, GOL has around 50,000 retail outlets and is looking to increase this figure by 10-15 percent per annum. 

 

 

Mr. Chawla stated the GOL had commenced working on a Rs. 165-crore expansion plan, which includes capacity expansion as well. The company plans to increase the existing production of its Silvassa facility from 75,000 tonnes to about 95,000 tonnes a year, which will cost around Rs. 40 crore and will be completed by January-2015. GOL is also working on a new 50,000-tonnes per annum capacity greenfield unit near Chennai with an investment of Rs. 125 crore, which is expected to take two more years for completion.

 

 

According to Mr. Chawla, GOL's goal is to join the top three private companies list of lubricant sector in India. Right now, the company stands at fifth or sixth position with a share of 4-5 percent in the 2-million tonnes per year lubricants market, worth Rs 28,000-crore.

 

 

Source: Business Standard