Hungarian General Machine Factory

MÁG stands for "Magyar Általános Gépgyár Rt" (Hungarian General Engine Works Company Limited[1]). It was the most prevalent Hungarian vehicle manufacturer before World War II, and was based in Budapest. Its roots date back to 1901, when Podvinecz & Heisler (a company created by two young entrepreneurs, 25-year-old Dániel Podvinecz and 24-year-old Vilmos Heisler), started assembling Austrian Leesdorfer cars - themselves being French Amédée Bollée cars built under license.

More successful was their later Phönix model, a German Cudell model built under license. The company was reorganised in 1912 and the automobile manufacturing division became the Magyar Általános Gépgyár Rt in 1913. Production was boosted by orders from the Post, the Army and other organisations – and outperforming other Hungarian manufacturers, including Röck, Rába, MARTA etc.- as the government tried to support local industry. MÁG introduced several models, designed by János Csonka, Jenő (Eugene) Fejes and other talented engineers.

Aircraft industry

World War I brought new business for the company, as it produced airplane engines under Austro-Daimler license, as well as complete airplanes. The MÁG produced cars until 1915, when the company decided to build aircraft engines and aircraft to support the war efforts of the country. It established a big new aircraft factory at Mátyásföld.[2]

Aircraft Engines
Serial Number Horsepower
16501 150 HP
17801 160 HP
18601 180 HP
19501 200 HP
24001 225 HP

Return to the car industry

After the war new car models appeared, including the Magomobil in 1924. By the mid-1920s it was apparent that MÁG is not competitive on the Hungarian market. Its financer and owner, the Hungarian General Credit Bank tried to find a buyer. In the meantime another new model, the Magosix was introduced with a 6-cylinder engine. It used many American parts to compete with the locally available American models but to no avail. The economic crisis of 1929 was the last straw, and the Bank pulled the plug. A total of 2000 passenger cars, 150 trucks and buses, as well as 1000 automobile engines had been produced.

  • Magomobil phoenix car -1906
  • Magomobil phoenix Bus
  • Magomobil phönix auto -1910
  • Magomobil Phoenix advertisement in 1911
  • A Magomobil truck in 1914
  • Magosix sport-touring car model, 1927

References
  1. company registration: Budapest Court of Justice July 27, 1912 No. 91107. 11941/4 in: Központi Értesítő (Central Bulletin) Volume 37, Number 70, 2nd semester, September 1912 (online: adtplus.arcanum.hu)
  2. A. J. Jacobs (2017). Automotive FDI in Emerging Europe: Shifting Locales in the Motor Vehicle Industry. Springer. p. 238. ISBN 9781137407863.
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