A recent survey in Russia indicates motorists are reducing the intervals at which they replace their passenger car engine oils – results that a consulting firm attributed to an aging car parc.
Moscow firm Autostat drew those conclusions after comparing results of an October survey of 3,000 car owners to the results of a similar poll conducted in November of 2022. In the earlier survey, 50% of respondents described their drain interval as around 10,000 kilometers, but in last year’s follow-up that portion dropped to 46%.
At the same time, numbers reporting shorter drain intervals increased. Thirty percent of October’s respondents said they change their oil every 7,500 km, up from 26% in 2022, while 11% reported 5,000 km intervals, which only 8% did two years prior.
B2X, a Moscow-based consulting firm in the lubricants sector, said these findings reflect the country’s aging vehicle fleet. The average age of cars in Russia has increased since 2022.
“Car owners are now changing the oil more frequently to extend their engine’s lifespan,” said B2X Managing Partner Anatoly Filatkin said on the firm’s Telegram channel.
Filatkin also noted that car dealerships and service stations are increasingly recommending shorter oil change intervals to boost sales. Additionally, consumers have less confidence in new and lower-cost oil brands, having switched to them for financial reasons. Another contributing factor is the availability of motor oils with minimal quality properties as specified by manufacturers.
Some Russian consumers attribute the shorter oil change intervals to the growing presence of Chinese car models in the market. Reports indicate that Chinese OEMs typically recommend oil changes every 7,000-8,000 km.
The Autostat study also found that the smaller group of motorists who previously changed their oil at 15,000 km has decreased further, along with the already minuscule share of those who performed oil changes at 20,000 km or 30,000 km intervals. Additionally, the study revealed that more than half of Russian motorists (55%) change their oil once a year. Meanwhile, 34% do so twice annually, and 7% perform even more frequent changes, three to four times per year.