Grasping the Market Lifeline: Kunlun Lubricants' Differentiation Strategy Leads the Industry

In 2012, China's lubricant market has become an arena where domestic and foreign lubricant enterprises contend. How to stand out in increasingly fierce market competition has become an important issue for major brands. The growing difficulty of competition in the lubricant market has prompted major lubricant manufacturers to rush to the terminal market to win market share. As the most well-known domestic national brand, Kunlun Lubricants is winning the market through a differentiation strategy and continued to lead the industry in 2012.
“Main Brand + Product Series” Strategy Drives Market Segmentation
Advancing into new fields, developing new products and capturing new markets are distinctive features of Kunlun Lubricants' development over many years. As early as 2005, Kunlun Lubricants achieved brand integration and product segmentation in response to market conditions and its own development characteristics. It unified its original dozen or so brands into the “Kunlun” brand, with names prefixed by “Tian.” Today, Kunlun lubricant products (greases and fluids) include 28 major categories and more than 700 grades, covering almost all vehicle types — low-, mid- and high-end commercial vehicles, eco-friendly models, buses, trucks and motorcycles — greatly satisfying different consumers' diverse lubricant needs.
According to statistics, lubricant output in 2011 was 8.2665 million tons, and the market has shown a trend of increasing saturation. Combined with the introduction of national macro policies and relevant regulations and consumers' preference for eco-friendly and economical models, this further proves that differentiated and segmented products will become a new profit growth point for lubricant enterprises. As an outstanding representative of national brands, Kunlun Lubricants actively advances its market segmentation strategy in response to market trends and consumer demand. At present, Kunlun Tianyuan, as a high-end brand of vehicle lubricant products, can fully meet the lubrication needs of China's top passenger cars and important components such as gears, and can even meet the lubrication needs of vehicles with special requirements such as heavy trucks, racing cars and military vehicles, winning consumers' favor in the high-end market. Tianrun, also a mid-to-high-end passenger car oil, is currently the main force in the market, mainly targeting passenger vehicles with extremely broad market coverage. For eco-friendly and energy-saving fuel engines, Kunlun has also launched the Tianlai series to meet the lubrication needs of mid-to-high-end eco-friendly fuel vehicles such as advanced gas passenger cars and ethanol-gasoline engines. Products such as Tianjiao, Tianwei and Tianhong are continuously upgraded according to market demand. In addition, based on practice and terminal feedback, Kunlun Lubricants has launched the Tianxie series of motorcycle lubricants, further enriching its product line.
The “Unity of People, Vehicles and Lubricants” Philosophy Leads the Industry
As the lubricant industry matures, consumers place more emphasis on brand awareness and recognition of brand value when choosing lubricants. The new-era consumer characteristics of seeking novelty, distinctiveness and difference further increase the difficulty of lubricant manufacturers' sales. Therefore, how to win the terminal market through differentiated brand appeals and market strategies has become the core point of competition in today's lubricant market.
As a leading enterprise in China's national lubricant industry, Kunlun Lubricants was the first to recognize the importance of a differentiation strategy. With strong scientific and technological strength and a rich product line as a solid foundation, Kunlun Lubricants proposed a “caring” philosophy distinct from its competitors and, drawing on years of development experience, summarized the advanced development approach of the “unity of people, vehicles and lubricants,” keeping Kunlun Lubricants at the industry's leading position throughout its more than 10 years of development.
Kunlun Lubricants' “caring” brand value strives to achieve balance and interconnection among “people, vehicles and lubricants.” It not only provides the best protection for vehicles with high-quality products, but also, through a complete service system and its commitment to public welfare, offers the greatest care to employees, dealer partners and consumers. In addition, Kunlun Lubricants' “caring” philosophy also embodies rich cultural connotations such as honesty, quality service, care for the environment, pursuit of professional quality and creation of a harmonious society. The brand value of “caring for vehicles, and even more for people” not only demonstrates Kunlun Lubricants' advanced brand management thinking as a national brand, but also shows that Chinese national brands are maturing and gradually taking a dominant position in competition with international brands.
At present, Kunlun Lubricants has stood out in the industry with its differentiated market strategy and has won the trust of many automotive and equipment OEMs such as FAW Group, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, Shanghai Volkswagen and Dongfeng Motor, while also earning unanimous praise from owners of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Volvo and GM vehicles. In the future, Kunlun Lubricants will continue to push forward, deepen its differentiation strategy, adhere to the development philosophy of the “unity of people, vehicles and lubricants,” break through in fierce market competition, and win a complete victory in the contest for market share in China's lubricant market.