Industry News & Standards Watch: How This Section Works

Last verified: 3 Jul 2026. Standards, effective dates and certificate scopes change and enforcement dates move — always confirm the current position with the issuing authority or a licensed customs broker before acting. Altonex Global is a B2B trade-expo and supplier-discovery platform; it does not issue certificates, provide compliance services, or act in any of the regulatory processes described — these are obligations of the supplier/exporter and the importer.

Specifications governing lubricants and automotive fluids change on rolling cycles. A category that was current two years ago may carry a transition deadline that makes it non-compliant for new purchases by the time a shipment clears customs. The gap between a standards update and a buyer’s awareness of it is where sourcing errors happen: an RFQ written to an obsolete grade, a container of API SP-labelled stock assumed to be obsolete when it is in fact still licensed, or an ACEA heavy-duty claim that was mandatory from one date but valid only until another.

This section exists to close that gap. It covers the standard categories that govern the products registered suppliers list on the platform: engine oils (gasoline and diesel, passenger car and heavy duty), transmission and gear fluids, motorcycle oils, hydraulic fluids, greases, and emerging electrified-drivetrain fluids. It does not cover OEM-specific approvals (those vary by vehicle programme and must be confirmed with the supplier directly) or price or availability data.

Each article in this section is built from a fact-brief of verified claims drawn from the standards bodies themselves—API, ILSAC (through ASTM), ACEA, JASO, SAE International, and ISO. Every claim is tagged as verified (named current edition cited), verify-per-supplier (the standard exists but the specific product’s compliance must be confirmed with the supplying company), or unknown (excluded from published text).

Concretely, readers will find transition-date tables, side-by-side comparisons of coexisting categories, and practical sourcing notes: which grades are licensable today, which carry a final permitted-use deadline, and how to use public verification tools such as the API EOLCS Licensee Directory to confirm that a specific product is currently licensed before issuing an RFQ.

The section does not replace direct supplier dialogue. Registered suppliers on Altonex Global list their own product specifications; this section gives buyers the reference framework to evaluate those claims and ask the right questions in an RFQ. To find suppliers whose products meet a specific grade, visit the RFQ Center or the supplier discovery listings.

No. API SP is current and valid. The API Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System confirmed that API SP and API SQ coexist in the market from 31 March 2025 onward; SP is not superseded and remains fully licensable.

API SQ is additive, not a replacement. It builds on API SP and introduces two capabilities the SP category does not cover: support for SAE 0W-8 and 0W-12 ultra-low viscosity grades and a sulfated ash cap of 0.9 % designed to protect gasoline particulate filters (GPF). API SQ also aligns with the ILSAC GF-7 specification (first allowable use: 31 March 2025). A buyer sourcing conventional 5W-30 or 10W-30 for a fleet that does not require GPF-protection or 0W-8/0W-12 grades has no automatic reason to reject an API SP offer. The practical buying rule: match the grade to the OEM requirement—and confirm with the supplier which API donut appears on the product’s label.

The split reflects a fundamental viscosity boundary. GF-7B covers only the SAE 0W-16 grade, which operates at a lower high-temperature high-shear (HTHS) viscosity than conventional grades and is required by specific Japanese OEM programmes and some hybrid powertrains. GF-7A covers the five conventional grades: 0W-20, 5W-20, 0W-30, 5W-30, and 10W-30.

A GF-7A oil cannot substitute a GF-7B requirement. The two sub-categories cannot be interchanged, even though both carry the ILSAC GF-7 family label. When issuing an RFQ for 0W-16, the specification line must read GF-7B (or its predecessor GF-6B until its permitted-use deadline). For all other covered grades, GF-7A or the still-valid GF-6A applies.

The last permitted use date for both GF-6A and GF-6B has been extended to 1 October 2026. This is an 18-month transition overlap with GF-7 (the standard transition period is 12 months; API extended it by six months). A buyer with an existing GF-6-spec contract, current inventory, or a long lead-time purchase order can continue to accept GF-6A- or GF-6B-labelled stock until that date.

The practical implication for import buyers: if a shipment is ordered today and the estimated arrival is late 2026, confirm with the supplier whether the production date of the consignment falls inside the GF-6 permitted window. Stock produced and labelled under GF-6 before 1 October 2026 is compliant; re-labelling or new production after that date must meet GF-7 requirements. Sourcing conversations about this transition belong in the specification section of an RFQ—use the RFQ Center to include a compliance-date field in your inquiry.

The two sequences update on separate tracks and affect different product families.

For light-duty (passenger cars and light vans):

• ACEA 2023 introduced two new categories: A7/B7 (LSPI and turbocharger deposit protection for direct-injection gasoline and diesel engines) and C7-23 (0W-16, low-HTHS).
• ACEA 2023 became mandatory for all new claims from 1 August 2024.
• ACEA 2021 remained valid for existing claims only until 1 August 2025; from that date all claims—new and existing—must meet ACEA 2023.
• Categories A3/B3, A1/B1, and C1 are withdrawn; do not specify them for new procurement.

For heavy-duty (trucks, buses, off-highway):

• ACEA 2024 heavy-duty sequences (Rev 1, December 2024) permit new claims from 18 December 2024; mandatory for all new claims from 18 December 2025.
• Active categories: E4, E7 (full-SAPS), E8, E11 (mid- and low-SAPS). E6 and E9 are fully obsolete as of May 2024—do not write them into new RFQs.
• ACEA 2022 heavy-duty remains valid for existing claims until 1 May 2026. (Tag: verify-per-supplier for specific product compliance dates.)

When specifying ACEA categories in an RFQ, always state the edition year alongside the category letter—for example, “ACEA 2023 A7/B7” or “ACEA 2024 E11”—to avoid ambiguity between overlapping editions.

Carefully. SAE J306_202502 (February 2025) retitled the driveline lubricant viscosity classification to encompass electric and hybrid drivelines and introduced four new ultra-low winter grades—SAE 62W, 63W, 64W, and 65W—targeting electric drive units. It also made KRL tapered-roller-bearing shear stability testing (CEC L-45-A-99) mandatory — a distinct, more severe method from the Kurt Orbahn (Bosch injector) shear test, CEC L-14-A-93. That is a real, verified standard update.

SAE J3200 (October 2022), the information report covering fluids for electrified drivetrain systems, is not a performance specification and is not mandatory. As of mid-2026, no finalized mandatory industry-wide EV drivetrain fluid specification from API, ACEA, or ILSAC exists. OEM-specific EV fluid requirements apply and vary by vehicle programme.

This section will not publish a claim that “EV fluid standard X is mandatory” unless a named body has issued it as such with an effective date. Where a standard is an information report or a proposed specification only, the entry will say so explicitly. For EV-specific fluid sourcing, the RFQ must reference the OEM requirement directly; use the RFQ Center to communicate those requirements to suppliers. Further background on lubricant categories is available in the Industrial Lubricants Explained guide.