Sluggish Automotive Industry, Shell Admits Oil Sales Remain Unaffected

KatadataOTO – Motor vehicle sales figures throughout 2025 are experiencing a decline. Cumulatively, the figures have not been able to match last year's achievements in the same period.

Various factors are considered to be the cause of the sluggish automotive industry, such as a weakening economy, which ultimately reduces public purchasing power.

In addition to four-wheeled and two-wheeled motor vehicles, namely motorcycles, a number of other supporting industries have also been affected.

However Shell Lubricants as a provider of vehicle oil in Indonesia claims that sales have not yet experienced significant disruptions.

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Shell does not deny that there has been a decline in sales, including for two-wheeled motor vehicles.

“But in the lubricant category, on one hand, we can see its segmentation across various viscosities,” said Kartika Pelapory, Vice President Marketing Lubricants Shell Indonesia in Jakarta, Friday (07/11).
 
According to Kartika, the variety of viscosity availability and oil types offered by Shell allows their products to continue reaching many vehicle users in Indonesia.

Therefore, Shell does not fully rely on new vehicle sales when selling its oil to consumers.

“Besides the (oil) category, also look at it from a geographical perspective. The market potential outside of Java for Shell Helix is growing,” said Kartika.

It should be noted that Shell Helix is one of the oil variants for four-wheeled vehicle users. Various viscosities are offered, such as 0W-40, 5W-30, to 0W-20.

The newest type Shell Helix Ultra was recently released, having specifications suitable for optimizing the engine performance of hybrid cars, gasoline, and diesel cars.

This is one form of Shell's commitment to adapting to industry developments where many manufacturers are starting to release cars with hybrid technology.

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Thus, Shell's product line can be used in various types of cars and motorcycles and survive amidst weakening sales.

Shell also strives to maintain consumer convenience and ensure that the range of oils offered through official outlets are not counterfeit.

“There is a special label on the bottle cap. Inside, there is a QR Code to validate whether the oil is genuine or not and how many times it has been scanned,” said Shofawatuzzakki, Technical Team Leader Lubricant Shell Indonesia on the same occasion.