PETRONAS Lubricants India, Tata Motors Launch Used-Oil Recycling Pilot
PETRONAS Lubricants India and Tata Motors have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pilot a structured used-oil collection and recycling programme in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The initiative aims to create a scalable and traceable system for collecting used automotive lubricants from Tata Motors workshops, transporting the waste oil through authorised channels and processing it into re-refined base oil.
How the used-oil recycling pilot will work
Tata Motors will use its service network to facilitate the collection and aggregation of used lubricants generated during vehicle servicing and maintenance.
PETRONAS Lubricants India will then channel the collected oil to authorised and registered recyclers for processing. The proposed system is intended to improve traceability across the used-oil value chain and reduce the risk of waste lubricants entering informal or environmentally unsafe disposal channels.
The pilot broadly involves four stages:
Used lubricants are collected at participating Tata Motors workshops.
The oil is aggregated and stored through a structured process.
Authorised operators transport it to registered recycling facilities.
Recyclers process the waste lubricant into re-refined base oil.
Re-refined base oil can subsequently be used as a raw material in the production of new lubricants, reducing dependence on virgin base oils and supporting a more circular lubricant economy.
Initial rollout in two states
The programme will initially operate in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The two states have large automotive, logistics and industrial ecosystems, making them suitable markets for testing workshop-level collection, transportation and recycling processes.
PETRONAS and Tata Motors have not announced the number of workshops covered, the volume of used oil targeted or the duration of the pilot. Its initial phase is therefore likely to focus on establishing operating procedures and studying whether the model can be expanded to a larger network.
Supporting India’s EPR framework
Used automotive oil is classified as hazardous waste and can contaminate soil and water when it is dumped, burned improperly or handled through unregulated channels.
The partnership is designed to support India’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework for used oil. EPR places greater responsibility on lubricant producers and other stakeholders to ensure that waste oil is collected, tracked and processed through authorised recycling facilities.
A traceable workshop-based system could also help vehicle manufacturers and lubricant companies maintain better records of how used oil moves from its point of generation to the recycler.
What PETRONAS and Tata Motors said
Binu Chandy, India Managing Director of PETRONAS Lubricants India, said that genuine circularity would require re-refined base oil to be reintegrated into finished lubricants.
He described the Tata Motors collaboration as a step towards developing a scalable used-oil circularity model and reducing the company’s operational carbon footprint.
Vikram Agrawal, Head of Spares and Non-Vehicle Business at Tata Motors, said sustainability-focused practices and partnerships were important for advancing circular-economy principles across the automotive value chain. He added that the collaboration would create a structured framework for collecting, recovering and recycling used automotive lubricants.
Why the initiative matters
India generates substantial quantities of used lubricating oil from passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, industrial equipment and agricultural machinery. However, fragmented collection systems and the presence of informal operators make consistent tracking and environmentally responsible processing difficult.
Large automotive service networks offer a practical collection point because oil changes already take place in a controlled workshop environment. Integrating these workshops with authorised recyclers can help create a dependable supply of used oil for re-refining.
The pilot could also provide a template for similar programmes involving vehicle dealerships, independent workshops, fleet operators and lubricant manufacturers.
Auto Punditz Take
The PETRONAS–Tata Motors partnership is important because it addresses the less visible environmental impact of internal-combustion vehicles: the handling of lubricants after an oil change.
However, the programme’s real impact will depend on measurable outcomes. Key indicators will include the number of participating workshops, the quantity of oil collected, recovery efficiency, traceability and how much re-refined base oil is ultimately used in new lubricant production.
For now, the initiative should be viewed as a promising pilot rather than a nationwide recycling programme. If the Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu model proves commercially viable and operationally traceable, it could be expanded across Tata Motors’ wider service network and help formalise India’s used-oil recycling ecosystem.
The partnership was announced on September 9, 2026.
