Solex was a French manufacturer of carburetors and gasoline powered bicycles.
Solex carburetors were used by many European automotive companies including Rolls-Royce Motors, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Porsche, and were also licensed to Japanese maker Mikuni. However, they are no longer made by any derivation of the original French firm.
The company discontinued operations in France in 1988. Starting in 1992, it underwent a series of acquisitions and name changes. When ownership fell under the Magneti Marelli umbrella, production shifted to China and Hungary. Production in Hungary was discontinued in 2002, and then resumed in France in 2005 with a line of gasoline and electric-powered bikes and mopeds being sold, as of 2021, under the VéloSoleX name as part of the EasyBike Group.[1]
History
The Solex company was founded by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard to manufacture vehicle radiators. These were fitted to several makes of early cars including Delaunay-Belleville and buses of the Paris General Omnibus company.
After World War I, the radiator business went into decline and the company bought the rights to the carburetor patents of Jouffret and Renée and named them Solex after their business.
The Solex brand is now owned by Magneti Marelli. The original Solex company changed its name in 1994 to Magneti Marelli France and on May 31, 2001, Magneti Marelli France partially bought its assets (including the trademark SOLEX) from Magneti Marelli Motopropulsion France S.A.S.
Carburetors
Solex carburetors were widely used by many European makers[2] and under license to Mikuni in Asia until the mid-1980s when fuel injection was widely adopted. Among the European companies which used Solex carburetors were: Rolls-Royce Motors, Alfa Romeo
Company timeline
- 1905: The company was created by Maurice Goudard and Marcel Mennesson, both graduates of the École Centrale Paris.
- 1973: the carburetor division is taken over by Matra, and later by Magneti Marelli, then by Renault and Motobécane in 1974.
- 1983: Motobécane is bought by Yamaha and becomes MBK.
- 1988: production in France, at Saint-Quentin, ends.
- Circa 2001 production ceased in China and restarted in France.
- In June 2004, the mark "Solex" was bought by Valeo
- In October 2005 Valeo launched the e-Solex, designed by Pininfarina and produced in China (400 W brushless electric motor, 35 km/h, autonomy of 30 km)[3]
External links
References
- The Brand History Solex, retrieved 2023-01-06^
- Solex Carburetor construction, working and advantages Enggstudy, 2019-04-20, retrieved 2019-07-05^
- Pininfarina and Cible Present e-Solex; Design News Dexigner, 2005-10-27, retrieved 2010-08-23^