The International Fluids Consortium (IFC) responds to rapidly changing vehicle technology.
Up till now, the development of oil specifications for API, ILSAC, ACEA and JASO has required consensus of lubricant and lubricant additives companies to ensure they are fairly implemented.
However, as Lubes'n'Greases reports, some specs have taken as long as eight years to bring to market; they are too expensive (some costing hundreds of thousands of dollars); and have lead to reduced performance levels.
With vehicle fluids needing to improve performance, capability, timeliness and dependability, the recently established IFC will focus on:
- developing and maintain fluid specifications for proper vehicle performance
- promoting the global awareness, availability and use of approved fluids
- managing a sustainable program for certifying, auditing and easily identifying tested and approved fluids.
Teri Kowalski from Toyota, a founding member of the consortium, said, “The IFC brings OEMs, fluid manufacturers, marketers and fluid additive providers together globally to create an improved system for developing these critical fluid specifications to meet vehicle requirements."
According to F & L Daily, members of the IFC have said, “they share a commitment to advance fluid technology for all vehicle powertrain and ancillary systems found in traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) powered applications as well as electric vehicles (EVs).”
The lubes industry is likely to be opposed to the IFC's aims to replace or consolidate the existing systems, as they will lose their role in decision making.