As motorcycles, scooters, and other forms of two-wheel transportation grow throughout the region, Lubrizol is delivering the technology necessary for efficient, effective mobility.

Throughout India, two-wheeled transportation is one of the fastest-growing forms of mobility. The country is home to the largest motorcycle population in the world, and continues to increase year after year.

Motorcycles and scooters offer the country’s growing population an affordable and practical solution compared with a typical passenger car and continue to see rising adoption throughout the region. And importantly, two-wheelers require specifically formulated lubricants in order to meet their full potential. Let’s take a closer look at the two-wheeler market in India, and why dedicated technology is a necessity:

Drivers of Continued Two-Wheeler Growth

In India, demand is increasing throughout rural areas as growing populations seek greater mobility. There are government incentives for the growth of two-wheelers as well—the 2025 Union Budget’s tax reforms, including raising the income tax exemption limit and the reduction of customs duties on motorcycles, are expected to boost demand for two-wheelers and make premium bikes more affordable.

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"Improved rural infrastructure and rising rural incomes are boosting two-wheeler sales in non-urban areas,” said Nitin Mengi, vice president, Lubrizol Additives, India, Middle East, and Africa. “These vehicles are a convenient, attainable mobility option for a wide variety of people in India, and they require robust support from the lubricant marketplace.”

Further, two-wheelers are often the first vehicle purchase for many Indian households due to their affordability and low maintenance costs.

“Urban youth and working professionals prefer two-wheelers for daily commuting due to their agility and ease of parking, and the booming gig economy and logistics sector rely heavily on two-wheelers for last-mile delivery,” said Mengi.

Why Two-Wheel Applications Require Dedicated Lubricants

As two-wheelers continue to grow in popularity, the availability of dedicated fluids and lubricants will only become more important.

Why? Consider that motorcycle oils are used to lubricate both the engine and the transmission, requiring the fluids to protect gears while meeting friction requirements for wet clutches. By comparison, traditional passenger car motor oils are used solely to protect the engine, and are therefore designed as such.

“Traditional passenger car oils are not designed for wet clutch transmission performance, and may cause operational issues over the course of the vehicle’s lifetime,” said Mengi. “Clutch slippage can be both dangerous for riders and an expensive problem to fix, and it is important that motorcycle engine oil formulations can prevent it.”

Issue	Passenger Car Oil	Dedicated Motorcycle Oil
Wet Clutch Slippage	High risk due to friction modifiers	Ensures wet clutch performance
Transmission Wear	Inadequate gear protection	Designed for combined protection
High-temperature Stability	Increased risk of breakdown	Formulated for high RPMs and thermal stress
Shear Stability	Inadequate shear resistance and viscosity loss	High shear stability
Additive Package	Designed for engines without gear and clutch interaction	Balanced protection for engine and clutch performance

Elsewhere, motorcycle technology itself continues to evolve—advancements in fuel injection technology to increase efficiency, higher power densities, and more efficient three-way catalysts will all have an impact on the technology required for reliable performance. For example, three-way catalysts are sensitive to phosphorus exposure as phosphate salts coat the catalyst surface and inhibit performance. Therefore, dedicated lubricants with optimal total phosphorus content and low phosphorus volatility are critical for catalyst durability.

To ensure quality motorcycle engine oil availability, many Asian countries have environmental regulations that influence two-wheelers engine oil formulations. Industry standards like JASO (Japanese Automotive Standards Organization) and API (American Petroleum Institute) ensure that available oils meet quality, performance, and environmental criteria, helping engines run cleaner and comply with emission regulations, thus supporting consumer safety and regulatory compliance.

Supporting Two-Wheel Mobility

Enabling the ongoing growth of two-wheelers throughout India and beyond will require the support of stakeholders throughout the lubricant industry. End-user education, widely available products, and forward-thinking technology are necessities.

To those ends, Lubrizol is committed to enabling India’s two-wheel segment to reach its full potential through insights-led strategy and future-ready additive technologies.

“In India, we are conducting dedicated research on the Indian two-wheel lubricant space to gain consumer-level insights and understand emerging trends,” Mengi said. “Lubrizol offers marketing support and technical training to enhance consumer value propositions for our partners.”

This post appeared in The Breakthrough: Issue 3 - 2025

Powering the Future of Two-Wheeler Mobility in India and Beyond