Solex is a brand name owned by a subsidiary of Italian auto parts manufacturer Magneti Marelli. The original Solex company was French-owned and produced carburetors and gasoline powered bicycles. It went through several name and ownership changes starting in 1992. Solex carburetors were used by many European automobile companies, including Rolls-Royce Motors, Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, and Porsche, and were licensed to Japanese maker Mikuni. They are no longer made by any derivation of the original French firm. Similarly, motorized bicycle manufacture was discontinued in France in 1988. Since ownership has fallen under the Magneti Marelli umbrella, production shifted to China, and Hungary, was discontinued in Hungary in 2002, and resumed in France as of 2005 with a line of gasoline and electric-powered bikes and mopeds being sold as of 2021 under the VéloSoleX banner, part of the EasyBike Group. It still uses the brand name Solex to associate its products with the heritage of the original French manufacturer. 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 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, Bristol, Fiat, Audi, Ford, BMW, Citroën, Opel, Simca, Saab, Renault, Peugeot, Lancia, Land Rover Series, Lada, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Volkswagen, Zündapp and Porsche. Solex carburetors have been made under licence by a number of companies including Mikuni of Japan, which entered into a licensed manufacturing agreement with Solex in 1960 and further developed many of Solex's original designs. Japanese automakers and motorcycle manufacturers using Mikuni carburetors included: Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Nissan, and Yamaha. Powered bicycles The VéloSoleX has a motor mounted above the front wheel. Power is delivered via a small