Buying motor oil has always been risky. There have been enough fakes already. But now their number has increased significantly. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that it is not clear which oils can be officially purchased with a guarantee of authenticity.
Shell
The only engine oil manufacturer that has officially announced its withdrawal from Russia.
The network of gas stations and the oil factory in Torzhok became the property of the domestic Lukoil. He did not integrate them into his brand, but will promote the Finnish brand Teboil, which has been owned by Lukoil since 2005. Gas stations have already been renamed Teboil, oils will catch up and soon their market presence will expand.
The Shell website is functioning, the possibility to check the authenticity of the purchased oil has been preserved.
castrol
The brand has not announced its departure, but there have been no deliveries since March. However, the reserves are still impressive. They were bought from the representative office by a new distributor who has no affiliation with the company headquarters. While you sell the leftovers and look for options for parallel imports.
But the official site works with limitations. You can understand the closure of the online store: there is no one and nothing to trade. An idle oil selection service for a car is also an understandable consequence. But why can’t the authenticity of the purchased bus be verified?! After all, there are still many officially imported products left, the buyers want to be sure of the quality.
Our advice: Buying Castrol is now extra careful, only in trusted places.
Total
The French concern announced the cessation of investments in joint projects. It followed from the statement that it concerns the extraction and processing of oil.
However, the company’s Kaluga plant was also shut down.
So far, the range in stores has not suffered much.
All functionality on the manufacturer’s and distributor’s website is available.
Mobile
Official deliveries have been stopped – there is no longer a link to the Russian branch on the brand’s global website. However, according to information from sellers, Mobil oils were the first to enter our country through alternative channels.
Turkish products in particular are imported. The location of bottling is not so important: large companies meet global quality standards. While there are gaps in the range.
Other brands
Liqui Moly, Motul, Eni and Repsol delivered, albeit intermittently.
korean oils ZIC and Kixxas well as Korean car brands, continue to operate entirely in Russia.
With original oils, everything is complicated. You can still find what you need on offer, but the choice is literally narrowing before our eyes, deliveries are rare and unpredictable.
Taking advantage of the situation, new names are promoted in Russia. More often than others, the Turkish brand Lubex flashes.
The Russian factories Lukoil, Gazpromneft, Sintek and Rosneft regularly produce products. They had to deal with interruptions in the supply of raw materials. First of all – imported additives. But so far there is no shortage. Their lines include motor oils for modern engines, and domestic brands can be considered a full-fledged replacement for imported ones.
There is a weighty argument in their favor: their products are sold at branded gas stations, where it is impossible to buy counterfeit products.
Do not panic
An acute shortage of motor oils does not threaten us. But there has already been a strong price increase and a reduction in the range. Prices will not return to their previous positions – you will have to get used to the new reality. But it is not as bleak as previously predicted. And this is reassuring.
- “Behind the wheel” can also be read in Yandex.Zen.