The main stages of the Ikarus development
Ikarus is a bus manufacturer based in Hungary. In the 1980s, it was one of the largest manufacturers in Europe.
The company traces its origins to a blacksmith’s shop founded in 1895. The entrepreneur Imre Uhry opened a workshop to repair carriages and horseshoes. Despite the stable income, the owner wanted to expand the business and invested in it. After a few years, Uhry began manufacturing his carriages and coaches. In 1913, he bought a factory to repair lorry bodies.
Unlike many other companies, Imre’s business was able to develop during the First World War. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the factory significantly expanded its product range. The company produced bodies for the chassis of famous car manufacturers. The main achievements of the company at that time were:
– bus manufacture based on the Gräf & Stift chassis;
– production of the 1,000th body;
– completion of orders for the State Railways and other major customers.
Crisis and attempts at recovery
Everything changed with the onset of the Great Depression in 1930. The number of orders plummeted, and the company went bankrupt. However, Imre’s two sons established a new company based on the factory in 1933. The main impetus for the company’s development was a large order for the production of 50 buses.
In 1942, the Uhry brothers established an aircraft manufacturing company, but it did not last long. When the Communist Party came to power in Hungary, the Republic nationalised most companies, including the Uhry company.
A year later, the government merged several factories to form Ikarus. The company initially produced vehicles and car bodies, then switched to bus production. In 1951, the factory entered the regional market and manufactured the first bus, designed and built entirely in-house. A total of 600 were built, and they were delivered to socialist countries such as China, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany.
The golden years of development began for Ikarus. The factory offered a wide range of modern bus models. They were actively exported to the Eastern Bloc countries. One of the main advantages of the company’s products was their competitive price.
However, the situation changed with the collapse of the socialist bloc in the early 1990s. Despite the production of new bus models, the loss of major customers led to a crisis. Countries that used to buy the vehicles refused to supply them, and about a thousand units remained in storage.
In 1999, the French company Irisbus bought Ikarus. The new owner decided to liquidate the unprofitable company. Between 2006 and 2018, many entrepreneurs tried to restore the factory to its former glory. However, none of the attempts was successful. Today, all that remains of the once-leading manufacturer is a small private company producing electric buses.
