Solex (manufacturer)

Solex H30 as fitted to a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle
VW-marked Solex carburetor as used on aircooled Beetles from 1970 onwards

Solex is a brand name owned by a subsidiary of Italian automotive parts manufacturer, Magneti Marelli. The original Solex company was French-owned and produced 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]

  1. ^ "The Brand History" (in French). Solex. Retrieved 2023-01-06.