Puch was founded by Johann Puch in Austria, they built their first bike in 1903. In 1912 Johann Puch went into retirement and became the company's honorary president. In that year the company employed about 1,100 workers and produced 16,000 bicycles and over 300 motorcycles and cars annually. During WW1 Puch became an important vehicle supplier to the Austro-Hungarian army.
However with the collapse of the empire following the War, the market for automobiles shrank and production was discontinued. In 1934, Steyr merged with Puch and Austro-Daimler to form Steyr-Daimler-Puch.
In 1952, Puch manufactured their first Puch motor scooter. The legendary Puch 500 was launched in 1957 and bikes were exported to the U.S. and sold under the names Allstate and Sears. The factory closed in 1987 after being bought by Piaggio.
The first Puch moped in the fifties was the Steyr-Daimler-Puch MS 50, known as baby-Puch because of its fragile and small body.Puch enthusiasts consider that it was the first proper production moped. However, it's difficult to decide where the cyclemotor ends and the moped begins; the French machines of the early 1950's in particular could be considered either. The fifties scooter craze blurred the model categories once again with mopeds that may also be scooters - or a scooterette as the Cheetah was described. Puch is well-known for its mopeds and motorcycles. Many motorcyclists today had a Puch Maxi moped as their first machine. With a decline in the moped market in the 1970's, Puch cycles had a resurgence and were exported worldwide.
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