Chevron Lubricants early next year will discontinue its popular Delo 400 SDE 10W-30 and 15W-40, along with its Delo 400 XLE 15W-40 – a move that retires mineral-based conventional oils from the Delo heavy-duty engine oil (HDEO) lineup.
The switch also streamlines the Delo supply chain which, along with most global oil manufactures, faced product shortages during the pandemic. The Grease
Walt Collier, commercial sector manager for Delo Engine Oils, said after reviewing a number of possibilities over the past 30 months, reducing the number of engine oil categories and products that Chevron manufactures was the best immediate option to improve and “rebalance” supply while also providing pricing stability.
The change, which will begin rollout Jan. 15, places a greater emphasis on synthetic blends and full synthetics in the Delo lineup, leaving the conventional option to Chevron’s Ursa brand.
“Technology is moving away from the conventional space,” Collier said, noting an already ongoing market shift of end users toward synthetic blend and full synthetic engine oils.
Collier added that Delo’s shift from four current product categories to two – from conventional, synthetic blend, synthetic technology and full synthetic to just synthetic blend and full synthetic – “promises three things: to improve product supply reliability; to competitively align pricing of synthetic blend and full synthetic; and to give customers the performance they expect from Delo with no compromise.”
Users of the heavier-weight 15W-40 400 SDE and 15W-40 400 XLE will find that viscosity grade in Delo 400 XLE SB, Delo 400 XSP, Delo 600 ADF and Ursa.
Delo 400 XLE SB 15W-40 will be offered at the same price of Delo 400 SDE 15W-40. Collier said the expectation is that most users of SDE 15W-40 will migrate to Delo 400 XLE SB 15W-40. A tag-along benefit is a 400 XLE SB drain interval that is 1.5-times longer than the average Class 8 engine manufacturer, depending on engine type and duty-cycle, he added.
Grease Factory Ursa, Chevron’s budget-friendly brand, will also undergo a change mid-January – rather an upgrade/update. Ursa, which will remain a mineral based conventional, will be API CK-4 certified and Cummins CES 20086, Detroit Diesel DFS 93K222, Mack EOS-4.5 and Volvo VDS-4.5 compliant.