GEA (Gustaf Ericssons Automobilfabrik) was a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded by Gustaf Ericsson (son of

Lars Magnus Ericsson Lars Magnus Ericsson (; 5 May 1846 – 17 December 1926) was a Swedish inventor, entrepreneur and founder of telephone equipment manufacturer Ericsson ( incorporated as ''Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson''). Lars Magnus was born in Värmskog, ...

) in 1904 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Originally the company was located in Arbetargatan, but later it moved to

Liljeholmen Liljeholmen is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm. History In 1860 Liljeholmen became the first suburb outside Stockholm city limits. The district was then one of two self-gov ...

. Together with his study friends from

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

K G Karlsson and Erik L Magnus they had the expertise needed for the project. The company started making engines, but at first not for cars, but kerosene engines for pumps and agricultural machines. Later they also made boat engines under the name "Gurik". After a few years Gustaf Ericsson thought it was time to build a car. It was to be powered by a six-cylinder engine, a first for Europe. One of the biggest problems was with the

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

. They asked Bosch for help, but they said they couldn't solve the problem. In the end K G Karlsson solved it by using two magnetos. The engine was basically two Fafnir engines in a row, driving the rear wheels via a chain. The chassis was also made in Germany. In 1905 the car was finished. Because of its size it was nicknamed "Ormen Långe". According to news reports it had a top speed of 60 km/h. However the market was not ready for such a car and it didn't enter production. However GEA imported, assembled and adopted cars for the Swedish market. The company folded in 1909.Gurik / GEA, Cars/Sweden, Konditori 100s Garage
/ref> Gustaf Ericsson later designed the 1933

Volvo Venus Bilo The Volvo Venus Bilo was a concept car unveiled by Volvo Cars in 1933. It was a streamlined design with rear hinged doors and conventional doors in the side to access the engine bay. It was designed to have good loading capacity. Nine special ...

, a very early example of streamlined cars.

References

Manufacturing companies based in Stockholm Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Sweden {{motorvehicle-company-stub