PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1926992
PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1926992
Lubricant additives are incorporated into lubricants to enhance their performance and prolong their lifespan. Their primary purpose is to elevate the quality of the base stock across diverse operating conditions, meeting the stringent performance requirements of machinery.
The key categories of lubricant additives encompass dispersants, viscosity index improvers, detergents, anti-wear agents, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, friction modifiers, emulsifiers, and other variants. Dispersants refer to chemical substances that aid in breaking up an oil slick into extremely minute droplets that disperse throughout the water. Various lubricant types encompass engine oil, transmission and gear oils, hydraulic fluids, greases, metalworking fluids, and other varieties. These find applications across a range of end-users, including automotive and transportation, food processing, metalworking, power generation, and other sectors.
Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report's Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.
Tariffs are affecting the lubricant additives market by increasing costs of imported chemical intermediates, specialty polymers, phosphorus compounds, and performance-enhancing additives. Automotive and industrial lubricant producers in North America and Europe are most impacted due to reliance on imported additive packages, while Asia-Pacific faces pricing pressure on export-oriented formulations. These tariffs are increasing formulation costs and reducing price flexibility. However, they are also supporting domestic additive production, regional supply chain diversification, and development of cost-efficient additive blends.
The lubricant additives market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides lubricant additives market statistics, including lubricant additives industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a lubricant additives market share, detailed lubricant additives market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the lubricant additives industry. This lubricant additives market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.
The lubricant additives market size has grown steadily in recent years. It will grow from $18.79 billion in 2025 to $19.7 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growth of automotive production, expansion of industrial machinery usage, increasing demand for long-drain lubricants, availability of conventional additive chemistries, established lubricant blending capacity.
The lubricant additives market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $23.98 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to rising adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles, increasing demand for high-temperature stable additives, expansion of industrial automation equipment, growing focus on biodegradable lubricants, increasing investments in additive innovation. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing demand for high-performance engine oil additives, rising adoption of low-emission lubricant formulations, growing use of advanced anti-wear agents, expansion of synthetic and semi-synthetic lubricants, enhanced focus on fuel efficiency.
The increasing automotive sales are expected to drive the growth of the lubricant additives market. The automotive industry comprises organizations focused on designing, developing, marketing, producing, and selling motor vehicles. Lubricant additives are used in engines to enhance performance and extend lubricant life, leading to increased demand in the automotive sector. For instance, in March 2024, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, a Belgium-based industry body, reported that global car production rose by 10.2 % in 2023 compared with 2022. Therefore, the increasing automotive sales are driving the growth of the lubricant additives market.
Major companies in the lubricant additives market are developing innovative products, such as multifunctional lubricant additives, to provide enhanced performance. Multifunctional lubricant additives are chemical substances added to lubricants to improve multiple properties and functionalities. For example, in January 2024, CAI Performance Additives, a US-based producer of high-performance additives, launched the ST-PA229C series for polyester applications like PET and PBT. These additives improve the temperature range for PET crystallization, reduce cycle times, save energy during sheet film production and injection molding, and offer benefits such as increased melt flow index, improved elongation, enhanced dispersion, better compatibility, and higher loading content versatility.
In February 2025, Univar Solutions, a US-based global distributor of specialty chemicals, acquired Brad-Chem Holdings for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition strengthened Univar Solutions' Ingredients & Specialties business and expanded its capability to supply and blend specialty lubricant additives, functional additives, and base stocks across the UK and Europe. Brad-Chem Holdings is a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of corrosion control products, multi-metal corrosion inhibitors, solid lubricants, and other lubricant additives for lubricants, metal-working fluids, coatings, and related industries.
Major companies operating in the lubricant additives market are Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik Societas Europaea SE, Evonik Industries AG, Infineum International Limited, Chevron Oronite, The Lubrizol Corporation, Croda International PLC., Afton Chemical Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Valvoline Inc., Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A, Vanderbilt Chemicals LLC, Rhein Chemie Corporation, Laxness Corporation, Dover Chemical Corporation, Wuxi South Petroleum Additives, Akzo Nobel, Shell International B.V, China National Petroleum Corporation, Shamrock, Tianhe Chemicals, BRB International, Adeka Corporation, Dorfketal Chemicals (I) Pvt Ltd, Jinzhou Kangtai Lubricant Additives Co. Ltd, King Industries Inc., Multisol Group, RT Vanderbilt Holding Company Inc., Shepherd Chemical, Sinopec Corp., Total S.A., Royal Dutch Shell plc, British Petroleum public limited company
Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the lubricant additives market in 2025. The regions covered in the lubricant additives market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa
The countries covered in the lubricant additives market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain
The lubricant additives market consists of sales of extreme pressure additives, extreme temperature additives, and biocide additives. Values in this market are 'factory gate' values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.
The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).
The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.
Lubricant Additives Market Global Report 2026 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.
This report focuses lubricant additives market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.
Where is the largest and fastest growing market for lubricant additives ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The lubricant additives market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.
The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, total addressable market (TAM), market attractiveness score (MAS), competitive landscape, market shares, company scoring matrix, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.
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