South Korea’s SK Lubricants Co. has added Spanish energy and petrochemicals group Repsol’s synthetic motorcycle oil to its premium product lineup to up its share in the fast-growing local motorbike engine oil market.

SK Lubricants has been selling Repsol’s synthetic motorcycle oil in Korea since January this year after it secured exclusive sales and marketing rights of the Spanish firm’s motorcycle oil September last year. On Friday, two companies held an event introducing the new motorcycle oil to Korean engine oil sellers, said SK Lubricants on Sunday.

The Korean engine oil maker hopes the addition of Repsol’s motorcycle synthetic oil to its premium product lineup would help to solidify its presence in local engine oil market.

The demand for motorcycle oil has been rising steadily as oils in motorcycle not only lubricate the engine but also cools the clutch and protects the gearbox while oils in car mainly lubricate the moving parts in the engine.

Repsol has a strong reputation in the global motorcycle engine oil market, especially through the fame that it built upon its sponsorship of the world’s largest motorcycle sports event, MotoGP, with its high-end products.

SK Lubricants operates a joint venture ‘Iberian Lube Base Oils Company (ILBOC) with Repsol. ILBOC was set up in 2012 and has been producing engine oils at a factory built in Spain in 2014.

By Lee Dong-in and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]