Who Owns The Valvoline Instant Oil Change Chain?

The Valvoline Instant Oil Change chain is actually owned by the publicly traded Valvoline, Inc. In a turnabout from the usual way this game has been played, as exemplified by who now owns Jiffy Lube, Valvoline chose to keep its Instant Oil Change chain for itself. It then sold its oil production and refining business to Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil giant, in March of 2023 for $2.65 billion.

Valvoline's Instant Oil Change chain boasts 2,100 locations at present, promising a full-service oil change in just 15 minutes. The Valvoline Instant Oil Change chain is also considered the best oil change chain by customer satisfaction. By 2022, the chain had grown to become the number two quick oil change company in the U.S. and the third biggest in Canada. 

The beginnings of the Valvoline company go back to 1886, when Dr. John Ellis realized what the potential benefits of refined crude oil as a lubricant could be. He developed the first motor oil to receive a trademark in 1873.

Valvoline's Instant Oil Change chain was started in 1986. Fast forward to the early 2020s, and Valvoline was, at one point, made up of two separate divisions — Retail Services and Global Products. The company then made the decision to sell its Global Products division to Saudi Arabia, while keeping the Retail Services division for itself, and the Retail Services division encompasses the Instant Oil Change chain.

The Valvoline Instant Oil Change chain uses a hybrid model that includes both company-owned and franchised locations, with some very large franchisees operating stores within the Valvoline system. One of these is Great Canadian Oil Change, the biggest supplier of quick oil change services in Canada. It has over 100 locations that are franchised. 

Another is Velocity Auto Care, a Franchise Equity Partners company, which just opened its 50th Valvoline Instant Oil Change location, its 12th one after buying its first 38 locations from Valvoline. Velocity has 18 additional locations planned to be open by 2027, all of them in Texas, with its ultimate goal of having 75 more locations open in the state within a seven-year period.

Over the years, Valvoline Instant Oil Change has expanded its service offerings beyond the quick oil change. The company now offers battery replacements, differential fluid changes, replacement of headlights and taillights, air conditioning recharges, air filter replacements, tire rotation, and much more. These added services should continue to generate additional revenue and profitability for Valvoline Instant Oil Change.

So Valvoline has done something that most other oil companies would shy away from. It has sold off its production and refining capabilities in order to focus purely on the retail services it offers to both the public and its growing network of franchisees. While Valvoline will continue to be a motor oil brand that is manufactured in America, the owners of this well-known oil brand will live far, far away.