Q] You are completing about two decades with Gulf Oil Lubricants. In that duration, you have taken it from the No. 6 position (private sector) in the category to the second spot. What has kept you going all these years?
India has been a fantastic market for us, especially when you look at ambitious growth. This is where we have been able to make a difference, moving the organisation from No. 6 to No. 2 in the private sector. Our brand ambassadors have also been part of the journey. It has been an inspirational calling for all of us, and that is what keeps us going.
Q] Lubricants is a highly competitive space with both PSUs and private players. What is standing between you and the No. 1 spot, which Castrol currently holds?
We are taking a segment-wise approach, having started with diesel engine oils, then motorcycles and B2B segments, in building our brand up. Our journey is obviously to grow market share, which we have been doing at two to three times the industry growth rate for the last 15-16 years. Reaching the No. 2 position is, in a way, challenging us to look at how we grow further. With EV mobility and our existing segments growing, how do we go to the next level? That is where the new brand positioning is also coming in.
Q] In August 2026, the contribution of EVs, hybrids and CNG was about 42% of passenger vehicle sales. EVs, of course, don’t have the conventional engine oil usage. How are you broad-basing your business to keep up with the changing times?
The lubricant market is going to grow three to four per cent despite EV-isation, which we call decarbonisation. The vehicle population across cars, two-wheelers, trucks and tractors is growing, and there are still ICE vehicles that will use oil for the next 10-15 years. So, as EV penetration goes up, we still see vehicles that will consume lubricants. At the same time, as new EVs come in, we are using the strength the brand has built to enter parts of the EV mobility chain, including chargers. We play a dual role. We still believe there is a lot of room to grow our market share in lubricants, both consumer and industrial.
Q] Are you going to change the name of Gulf Oil Lubricants in the near future, to show that the brand is not restricted to lubricants anymore?
Yes, we are growing other businesses. We are offering different solutions for mobility, and that is something to ponder on as we evolve.
Q] You changed your creative agency last year to Curativity and also unveiled a new brand positioning, ‘Kuch Behad Kar’. But if mechanics are making most of the decisions when it comes to engine oil, how do you measure ROI from mass consumer campaigns versus the B2B incentives you give them?
The new positioning is based on an insight that today’s Indian youth see ambition as something that is not constrained by resources. For us, it was always important to build a master brand. Since 2008-09, we have invested six to seven per cent of our revenue in it. It was through associations like IPL, starting with Kings XI, then Chennai Super Kings, and through Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Smriti Mandhana as brand ambassadors. In India, we use cricket as a platform. We have a motorcycle brand called Gulf Oil. It is not a high-involvement product, where consumers depend a lot on advice from retailers, mechanics or OEMs. Having said that while the mechanic is a good influencer, or what I may call a quasi-consumer, the consumer still has a say in what goes into his vehicle. So, building the consumer brand is as integral as connecting with the mechanic and other touchpoints. Our strategy is therefore not only to talk to the consumer, but also involve mechanics, trade and OEMs.
Q] But with EVs, the final decision-maker is not the consumer. It is largely OEMs such as Tata and Mahindra, which are creating those components and putting them into vehicles. As your focus shifts, would your advertising also move towards building B2B credibility rather than just mass consumer campaigns?
You’re right. Our master brand has been built largely on B2C offerings, but it does have a rollover effect on the B2B decision-maker because they also see the brand as a consumer brand. Interestingly, this year we launched a campaign for our B2B business for the first time, called ‘Dream Beyond. Do Beyond’. It is about dreams and going beyond limits. We are positioning our brand directly with B2B segments, including OEMs and industries. Both ‘Dream Beyond. Do Beyond’ and ‘Kuch Behad Kar’ connect with our global positioning, ‘Together We Are Unstoppable’. From there, we are building on the insight around Indian youth and strengthening our B2B industrial segment, where we see a good opportunity to grow.
Gulf Oil Lubricants has also been connected to consumers through activations, education and engagement with mechanics. Mahendra Singh Dhoni spends good quality time with our best mechanics. We provide mechanics who run garages a platform to interact with him on bikes, which are a passion for him and, I am sure, for them as well.
Q] What is contributing the maximum revenue to Gulf Oil Lubricants today? Which is your fastest-growing vertical?
If you look at product categories, diesel engine oils form more than 40 per cent of our lubricant business. Our B2C market, which is the distributor-led retail market with retail stores, garages and spare-part shops, is about 50 per cent of our business by volume. Then we have a very strong OEM division, working with OEMs such as Bajaj, Piaggio, Mahindra, Swaraj, Ashok Leyland and BharatBenz, to name a few. This segment contributes nearly a quarter of our sales. Then there is the industrial business, with industries such as steel and cement, and the infrastructure segment, including L&T and others. We have a fairly well-rounded portfolio. Our mantra has been to grow two to three times the market growth, which is three to four per cent. Most of our businesses are growing at double digits. We expect industrial lubricants to grow faster because our market share there is slightly lower, below five per cent. In motorcycle and diesel engine oil, we are at close to 9-10 per cent market share. We also expect our passenger car motor oil business, where our market share is again low, to grow three to four times the industry rate.
Q] What is your target for your EV-charging and mobility business?
Interestingly, we have bought into the charging business through our majority stake in Tirex. They make DC chargers for buses and other fast-charging applications. I am happy to share that they crossed `100 crore in turnover last year. We expect that to touch about `300-400 crore in three to four years. Chargers are playing an important role as EVs grow in India. We are working with OEMs, bus manufacturers, charge point operators and other institutions. We are also working with car-charger companies. So, that business itself is going to give us `300-400 crore. We expect that to happen in three to four years.
Q] Your products are on e-commerce sites, does it give you significant sales there?
E-commerce is part of the reach and route to market today. It is not a very large percentage for us and is still in single digits. But the Indian consumer is very savvy about how they buy. Information search and e-commerce have become a way of life across so many product categories. It is still not very high in terms of volume, but we are happy to be there. We are among the top three in lubricants in e-commerce and it could turn into a double-digit contribution in the next four to five years. Currently, we want to just ride the wave.
Q] Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been with Gulf Oil for about 15 years. Hardik Pandya came on board in 2018 and Smriti Mandhana in 2022. Why are all of them from cricket and not varied sectors?
As a global brand, Gulf has been involved in motorsports. In India, motorsports align well with vehicles and allows you to test your product in those driving conditions. But you have to make a choice on the platform because budgets need to be focused. We chose cricket because it has excellent reach. We chose IPL because it was also a youth-focused property and easy to understand. I remember somebody once asked me, ‘Why not have a woman cricketer?’ We thought about it and got onboard a woman cricketer. You raised a good question, but resources also have to be focused on some of the properties we have. The three names you mentioned, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Smriti Mandhana, are people who have defied limits. If there is an opportunity, of course, we will look at other options, but right now the focus is also to amplify what we have.
