Total Oil to launch motorcycle lubricant developed at India facility

French oil and gas player Total Oil will soon be launching an India-developed and manufactured motorcycle lubricant in the country. The new lubricant, to be named the 'Hi-Perf' series, has been developed at the company's Technical Centre for Asia-Pacific (TCAP) in Mahape, Navi Mumbai. The lubricant will be launched later this year. The TCAP in India is one of only two such facilities the company has in the world, the other being in France. Total Oil India Pvt Ltd aims to increase the development and output of the TCAP in the next 5 years.

Total Oil's Technical Centre for Asia-Pacific (TCAP) in Mahape, Navi Mumbai

Speaking about the goal of increased output from the research and development (R&D) here, TCAP MD Franck Eydoux said that currently the facility carries out around 20 per cent of the company's total research into lubricants, fuels, fuel additives, and special fluids (solvents). This includes the development of lubricants using local components, developing new customized formulations, and improving the performance of existing lubricants.

"We will increase the output to 25 per cent in the next five years. We have a team of 30 researchers at the moment, which we will increase to 60 over the same period," he told OVERDRIVE. Total's technical centre in France has a strength of 220 researchers at the moment.

While Eydoux did not reveal details about Total's new motorcycle lubricant meant for Indian motorcycles which will hit the market later in 2017, he said that it is one of the 30-odd base formulations developed at the Navi Mumbai TCAP since it began in 2012. Eydoux said that being strategically placed to cater to all of the local needs in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East as well as due to lower costs here, the facility was planned in India over the other options including China and South Korea. The TCAP is located in the same campus as Total's manufacturing facility, which is functional since 2002.
The company's revenue comes from three major streams, 50 per cent of which comes from oil drilling, 30 to 35 per cent from automotive sector, and others including textile sector comprise the remaining 15 to 20 per cent.