Puli (make of car)
Puli was a Hungarian micro car - car brand , which in 1986 first from the in Hódmezővásárhely based agricultural machinery and automobile manufacturers Hódmezővásárhelyi Mezőgazdasági és Szolgáltató Gépgyártó Vállalat (literally Hódmezővásárhelyischer agricultural machinery manufacturers and service providers) was marketed shortly HODGEP.
From 1974 HÓDGÉP built various agricultural machines, including tillage machines, tractors , combine harvesters , and finally from 1987 also miniature cars.
In the mid-1980s, the import-export company "Techno Impex", which did business between COMECON countries such as Hungary and the West, approached HÓDGÉP with the proposal to build a small city car. Those in charge at HÓDGÉP were happy to take up the suggestion, because the Hungarian economy was suffering from a shortage of foreign currency at the time and they saw it as an opportunity to open up new markets for themselves. After the oil crisis in the late 1970s, microcars were in great demand, especially in countries like France and Italy.
So in 1986 the first drafts for the new small car were made. It was initially called "Hungi" and "Pouli"; later it became "Puli". In 1987 the first mobile prototypes were available.
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The Puli is 2460 mm long and was assembled from parts from Škoda , Lada and Polski Fiat that were available in the country at the time. The car is powered by a diesel engine with an output of 6.4 HP (4.0 kW). In the spring of 1988, when the decisive ramp-up of series production took place, attempts were made to systematically eliminate existing quality problems. A Yanmar diesel engine with 273 cubic centimeters was installed in the first prototype , but this was later replaced by a diesel from Lombardini . The body is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic . The main idea was to export to France, where this category of automobiles does not require a license. Some business people showed interest in the car, including Jean Hardy , who bought a large amount, and Bruno Fridez , who either paid partial or no payment for the vehicles he ordered.
HÓDGÉP mainly dealt with the construction of agricultural machinery, but did not survive Hungary's turn to the free market economy in the late 1980s. In the wake of the loss of the planned economy framework of the COMECON states, the companies, to which HÓDGÉP belonged, had to expose themselves to the forces of supply and demand.
In early 1991, an electric car model was created under the name Fridez Pinguin 4 . It came about through the acquisition of early Puli stocks with subsequent conversion to electric cars. The limited small series production of the Pinguin 4 is due to the business activity of the Swiss solar and electric car manufacturer Bruno Fridez. But this project did not last long because the manufactured products did not meet the quality expectations of the time.
During this time, the economic change in Hungary did not stop at HÓDGÉP: HÓDGÉP was privatized. In the course of this privatization, Puli Jármű és Gépgyártó Kft (literally: Puli Vehicle and Engine Manufacturing Ltd.) was founded in spring 1991, and Alexander Pikali became its managing director . As Pikali was dissatisfied with the business situation as far as the Puli were concerned, he decided to break with Hardy and Fridez and go his own way. The Puli 2 E (internal type designation: Puli 107E) manufactured by the newly founded company is a further development of the Puli as it was known from HÓDGÉP. A complete overhaul of the entire drive train illustrates this. It is a construction in which a 7.4 kW electric motor (more precisely: a direct current machine in series connection) with a downstream reduction gear with differential and 10 lead-acid batteries of 6 volts were installed. The resulting Puli has a range of 30–100 km and a top speed of 60–70 km / h. The body variants "Cabrio", "Hatchback station wagon" and "Transporter" could be mounted on the chassis . The price in Germany was DM 20,700.
The Puli Jármű és Gépgyártó Kft based on corporate assets values in the amount of that time 340 million forints , which stemmed from HODGEP. When funding to implement Pikali's business plans, it was assumed that wealthy foreign auto companies would come and take over and invest in Puli Jármű és Gépgyártó Kft . But this did not happen. And so the recorded-loaded loans the company on the debit side strong in relation to the generated revenue . In 1992, when lenders realized that things were not going as smoothly as planned, they filed for bankruptcy protection . During the bankruptcy proceedings, Pikali tried on the one hand to restructure the company and evade bankruptcy protection, and on the other hand to serve and calm down the lenders more effectively. The insolvency proceedings dragged on for almost five years (from 1992 to 1996). During this time, vehicles of the Puli 2 E model were exported to Germany, France and Switzerland, among others. But at the end of 1996, the lenders were finally able to enforce the liquidation .
How many vehicles were produced in total is unclear.
In 2006 the Puli came back under the new owner Henrik Harasta . Harasta owns the Puli and Wartburg brands .
literature
- Hódgép, 1974-1989. Hódmezővásárhelyi Mezőgazdasági Gépgyártó és Szolgáltató Váll., Hódmezővásárhely without year (company font) (Hungarian) (available in the National Széchényi Library of Hungary, Identifier: vitis.oszk.hub1: 1002073).
