DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024 AFTERMARKET 59 www.aftermarketonline.net VLS is to bring products into compliance, not to punish organisations. We will then publish the findings of the particular case. “You'll see details on the VLS website of current cases and current outcomes. What we do have. If people need a little persuasion after a sixmonth period, we have the opportunity to work with trading standards to escalate. If somebody is not or an organisation is not in agreement with what we're doing, It's very rare that comes out, but it's very good to have that in our processes now. A lot of legal dialogue took place over ten years ago to get these to be robust and solid for the market. What we're very pleased at now is that these processes have been getting high interest within other lubricant associations outside the UK. We're currently in dialogue with two in the Southern hemisphere and then there's also dialogue in European organisations as well because this is seen as a credible set of processes that is helping to bring the market back into compliance.” Looking at what products have been involved in cases, Alan said: “About 73% of the current cases that we're referencing today are passenger car motor oils. That's a reflection of the market. In the late 90s, you saw the emergence of the low SAPS specifications as more treatment devices were fitted to vehicles. There was a lot of dialogue regarding diesel particulate filters, but now you've got gasoline engines with particulate filters as well. What would have been seen as sensitive then is quite normal today.” All this affects the lubricants on the market, but there are consequences as Alan noted: “You've now got NOx reduction units and they're sensitive to sulphur and phosphorus in the chemistry. Traditional lubricants use conventional high SAPS technology, You just can't formulate a low SAPS product and claim the same specification as a high SAPS product. It doesn’t work. There’s a degree of education needed, and we are looking to address that.” There are process issues within suppliers that get flagged up too: “Sometimes there can be delays within the OEM procedure itself If I'm looking up an oil and it says it's Mercedes-Benz approved, then I'm paying more because I think I'm getting something that's Mercedes-Benz approved. Equally if I'm a consumer and I walk into my local supermarket to buy my oil, and I look on the back and it says Mercedes-Benz approved, I will believe that. It’s quite a different message to, ‘oh, actually, it's not quite approved’. “Has that product been applied for? Has it been submitted? So there's sometimes a little bit of a negotiation. This is where dialogue helps. You don't always need to bring in Trading Standards. The named party's reaction is always very telling.” Education Some cases are brought to the attention of VLS by garages. While a lubricants company needs to pay £250 to bring forward a complaint, for consumers and workshops, there is no cost, as UKLA President Mike Bewsey noted: “We're very conscious that we're here to represent the consumer. Garages are often looking for advice and that's where we're able to help. Most garages if they have concerns about a lubricant will just switch there and then. However, we have had a small number of cases go through from workshops.” Considering the changing lubricants landscape, Alan said: “In the past we had an issue as an industry with low speed preignition (LSPI). New specifications came out pretty quickly to address that. Policing by VLS really helps to make sure that the standards are upheld. “Education is needed, particularly as we get into ultra-low viscosity. A few years ago, we were at a 15-W50 market. Now we're down at 0W-20 and getting lower. Some Japanese OEMs are looking at even thinner. This is fuel-economy driven.” Summing up the role of VLS in the context of a market with a small but significant shift to EVs, with their own specific lubrication needs, dominating the landscape, Jacquie added: “The sector is in transition at the moment. A number of factors are affecting the marketplace and potentially causing a greater level of competition and that leads to an increased number of cases for VLS to investigate.” For more information, visit: https://ukla-vls.org.uk/ The purpose of VLS is to bring products into compliance, not to punish organisations ”
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