SECTOR FOCUS:
AUTOMOTIVE HDDO
Top tier oils drive profitable fleet management Alan Henderson, Senior Marketing Specialist for Heavy Duty Engine Oils, Afton Chemical
Commercial fleet management has matured. Fleets are taking an increasingly strategic approach to optimising their operations, with a greater reliance on data. Top tier heavy duty engine oils have also come of age; over 40% of medium/large European fleets will require top tier oils as defined by ACEA E6/E8 performance specifications. Top tier additives offer the longer-lasting cleanliness and improved wear protection that modern engines need, to deliver the superior productivity and profitability that fleet managers demand. Strategic approach As even the most fragmented and less economically developed markets increase in maturity, the trends are echoing those that have been seen in Europe for years. Competition between heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) operators is rising and fleet sizes are growing. Fleet management systems that enable hauliers to comply with statutory reporting requirements, meet the high expectations of their customers and extract maximum value from every vehicle are becoming commonplace. Managing a profitable HCV fleet in today’s marketplace means taking a strategic approach to total cost of ownership (TCO). It’s not only about
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vehicle efficiency – minimising fuel consumption and planned time off the road. Additional maintenance costs arising directly from truck breakdowns also contribute to profitability. Although harder to quantify, indirect costs should also be taken into account: unreliable vehicles have a detrimental and often long lasting impact on customer satisfaction. Finally, fleet management strategy should also look to optimise a truck’s residual value when sold on or returned at end of lease. Larger fleets often rely on selling their used trucks as a profitable revenue stream alongside their core logistics business, by commanding higher resale values through strong maintenance practices. Proven top tier value With TCO being the number one priority reported by European fleet managers, top tier engine oils should not be viewed as only relevant for factory fill. Appropriately specified top tier fluids can add value in several measurable ways: • Increased fuel economy: just a 1% increase in fuel efficiency can save three times the cost of a top tier engine oil. • Lower maintenance costs: increasing oil drain intervals can significantly reduce planned downtime, saving up to 10% on maintenance costs during a truck’s lifetime.
• Less depreciation: optimal lubrication increases a truck’s resale price, returning up to 5% more than similar but less well-maintained vehicles. The built-in performance reserve of top tier fluids offers fleet managers three clear routes to enhancing fleet profitability. These value-added claims, validated by engine testing, are now a more attractive marketing proposition than ever. Greater reliability Unplanned downtime causes fleet managers far more than just a financial headache. Keeping trucks running is essential for meeting pickup and delivery schedules and maintaining high service levels. Truck breakdowns mean unhappy customers and ultimately can result in lost business. Higher-grade performance engine oils offer better piston cleanliness and protection from cylinder liner wear, minimising the risk of vehicle breakdowns and customer service disruptions. Fleets with a reputation for good reliability may also attract resale prices up to 5% higher when their trucks are sold on at end of life. Helping to reduce vehicle depreciation is therefore another way in which top tier oils can add significant value. Higher productivity Safely extending the driving distance between oil changes also enables fleets to extract maximum value from each truck. With the right additive package to protect against oil oxidation, top tier oils can extend their piston cleanliness performance, helping trucks to stay on the road for longer without compromising engine reliability. This can reduce maintenance costs by up to 10%. While this may seem insignificant for a single truck, the impact of longer maintenance intervals can be considerable when aggregated across an entire fleet. Take a typical European fleet of 100 trucks, each covering an average of 120,000 km per year. Switching from a mainstream to top tier oil could extend the drain interval by as much as 50%. Over a three-year period, that would save a total of 120 days’ downtime for oil changes; the equivalent of keeping a truck on the road for 3 extra days every month.
Better fuel economy With fuel making up around a third of fleet operating costs, there is a powerful incentive to minimise fuel consumption – by optimising driver behaviour and also engine efficiency. From a lubricant perspective, reducing viscous drag within the fluid improves engine efficiency – so lower viscosity engine oils are inherently desirable. Viscous drag is most apparent where there are fine tolerances between very hot moving surfaces – such as in the piston ring and cylinder liner area, the bearings and the camshaft. Fluids with dynamic viscosity characteristics that minimise friction under these challenging conditions, the so-called low High Temperature, High Shear (HTHS) oils, can further increase this efficiency. Imagine again the same fleet of 100 trucks. Each drives an average of 120,000 km per year with an average fuel consumption of 35 litres per 100 km. If diesel sells at €1.45 per litre, changing the fleet’s mainstream SAE 10W-40 oil for a SAE 5W-30 oil (typical top tier lubricant) would save in excess of €50,000 in fuel costs every year. Paying more pays off In the highly competitive logistics market, it is extremely challenging to turn a profit – which is why there has been a proliferation of tools and services to refine fleet management. Taking a simple cost-cutting approach and using mainstream lubricants might seem appealing as a part of a simple cost-cutting exercise. However, as Afton’s recent Heavy Duty survey of fleet managers shows, doing this overlooks the negative impact of lower efficiency and reliability on both finances and service levels. The superior productivity and efficiency that top tier engine oil offers fleet managers not only outweighs the higher cost of the lubricant itself, it can increase customer satisfaction. Flexible partners Close collaboration between additive supplier and OEMs at an early stage of development is key to success. This approach is used to facilitate the formulation of engine oils that enable current OEM hardware and future designs to perform optimally, across a range of viscosity grades, with greater Continued on page 12
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durability, while ensuring all-important backwards compatibility for maximum fleet coverage. Working closely with OEMs to develop low HTHS additives has already helped to improve engine efficiency and durability for low dynamic viscosity oils, which support better fuel economy and longer oil drain intervals. These OEM partnerships also enable innovation in ways that drive down top tier formulation costs. Utilising cost-effective viscosity modifiers in both Group II and III base oils has also improved supply flexibility; an important factor in these times of disrupted supply chains and uncertainty around availability. Providing valuable top tier performance to fleets with lower costs, better operational flexibility and greater efficiency for oil marketers is a triple win. The future of top tier Maximising customer service and fleet profitability as part of a strategic fleet management approach
means top tier formulations, which meet the most challenging ACEA E6 category and have a wide OEM profile, are now more competitive than ever. Going forwards, there is also likely to be increasing pressure on fleets to show customers that they are actively reducing the environmental impact and CO2 emissions of their business. Top tier fluids that surpass today’s ultra low viscosity requirements to deliver superior fuel economy and lower emissions are already here. Whatever is demanded of future engine oils by the advent of Euro VII, whether that’s ever greater engine efficiency, increasing electrification or the introduction of hydrogen-fuelled fleets, continued close partnership with OEMs will ensure that top tier additive solutions remain a cornerstone of profitable fleet management.
LINK www.aftonchemical.com