Counterfeit engine oils account for a large share of the Russian market, reaching as much as thirty to fifty percent in some estimates. This figure comes from Izvestia and is attributed to Ilya Plisov, a member of the board of directors of the Automobile Services Association. [Izvestia]
Engine oils are among the goods allowed to enter Russia through parallel import channels. The commonly sold brands in this category include Castrol, Shell, and Total, among others. [Izvestia]
However, Plisov cautions that parallel imports of oils are not occurring in large volumes at present. [Izvestia]
The expert notes that no importer has kept oil reserves on hand for multiple years, so any existing stock has already reached its expiry date or is close to it. [Izvestia]
Tatyana Ovchinnikova, who leads the Fit Service network of service stations, shares a grim trend observed from 2000 to 2021. During that period, 10 to 15 percent of engine oil sold was counterfeit. Since early 2022, the share of fake oil rose to about 30 percent. [Izvestia]
Despite this, familiar brands such as Mobil, Toyota, Castrol, NGN, Shell, BARDAHL, and Liqui Moly can still be found in stores. Ovchinnikova notes that there is no reliable guarantee of authenticity for these products today. [Izvestia]
Plisov points out that many brand owners who exited the market have stopped pursuing claims, which leaves the market without strong guardians against fake goods. The overall impression is that the entities responsible for ensuring product integrity have disappeared from the scene. [Izvestia]
In early 2023, Russian customs authorities reported that 3.2 million counterfeit engine oil units were identified in January through September, a figure that is about two times lower than for the same period in the previous year. [Izvestia]
There is also an ongoing concern that Russian consumers are not adequately protected from deceptive practices by some companies and may not be fully aware of their rights. Addressing this issue is seen as a legislative priority to improve consumer protection and market integrity. [Izvestia]