Eloranta
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Native name | Eloranta Autoyhtion Oy |
|---|---|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Founder | Vihtori Eloranta |
| Headquarters | Osterlund , Valkea |
Area served | worldwide |
| Products | Luxury vehicles |
Production output | 176,000 (2019) |
| Parent | Eloranta-Forscher |
| Website | eloranta.com |
Eloranta is a luxury vehicle brand owned by Eloranta-Forscher, a Valkean-Nidwaldeser automotive holding company based in Erzberg, Nidwalden. Its vehicles currently comprise luxury passenger cars and luxury sport utility vehicles.
Eloranta was founded in 1929, starting off as a manufacturer of car bodies before moving to make passenger cars themselves. They began to cater to the luxury market in the 1950s, establishing themselves as a premier marque in the Valkean passenger vehicle market. It was bought by Valteo in 1963 and included in its motor vehicle brands. However, VTY was broken up in the 1980s, and so Eloranta was an independent company for 5 years before Sorsa acquired them in 1988.
Sorsa continued to own Eloranta until it was spun off in 2005. In 2007, a deal was brokered with Nidwaldeser company Forscher to create Eloranta-Forscher, a holding company that would own, design, manufacture, and market both marques.
History
In 1929, Vihtori Eloranta founded the Eloranta Coachbuilding Company in Osterlund, Valkea, and built bodies for Valkean automobile companies such as Vatanen, Lehtonen, and Juhola. The company then progressed to manufacturing automobiles in 1936, changing its name to Eloranta Car Company. Their first model was the Eloranta S1, a two-door sedan that was built to be simple and utilitarian for the Valkean public.
With the transition of Valkea from a largely agrarian nation to an industrial one in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Eloranta shifted towards building luxurious sports cars for the growing Valkean elite. In 1951 they released the S20, a two-seater coupe sporting a 3.0L straight-six engine that made 145 hp. A convertible version was released the following year. Their cars proved to be successful in motorsport, winning races all over Lorecia. Eloranta became the first Valkean automaker to win the 24 Hours of <place> with the C2.
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Eloranta released various models throughout the 1950s and 1960s, namely the L1, L2, and L3 sports sedans, the L11 and L12 compact sedans, and the LC6 and LC12 luxury sedans. These models quickly established the company's reputation as a luxury automaker. Its prestige was further enhanced with the release of the S30 sports car in 1962, which quickly became one of the company's most iconic models. The S30, which was available in coupe and roadster variants, featured a 3.8L straight-six engine from 1962 to 1966 and a 4.2L engine from 1966 onward.
In 1963, the state-owned Valkean Industrial Corporation (VTY) bought Eloranta and positioned it as the premier luxury marque in the VTY Motor Group. From then on, the company had secured financial stability. They continued to release new models throughout the 1960s such as the L4 and L5 sedans, L14 and L16 compact sedans, and new versions of the LC6 and LC12. However, a combination of poor business decisions and lackluster cars throughout the 1970s began to tarnish their reputation. VTY eventually declared bankruptcy in 1984, and Eloranta was spun off as an independent company. The company began to recover throughout the remainder of the 1980s, finally turning a profit in 1986, yet it continued to struggle against other Lorecian premium brands.
Sorsa bought Eloranta in 1989 and positioned it as their premium marque to compete against their rivals Lenora and JLC. Under their ownership, the company expanded their lineup to include the AC and GC.
Due to mounting financial troubles at the turn of the 21st century, Sorsa relinquished control of Eloranta in 2005. As a result of this, the latter was spun off as an independent company for the second time in their history. The winning bid went to Andreas Penttilä, a former executive at VTK Motor Group. Under his leadership, Eloranta merged with Forscher in 2007 to create Eloranta-Forscher.
In October 2020, Eloranta-Forscher announced that Eloranta's vehicle lineup will be fully electric by 2025.
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