Hungarian General Machine Factory

About Hungarian General Machine Factory

MÁG stands for "Magyar Általános Gépgyár Rt" (Hungarian General Engine Works Company Limited). 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.