A celebration of versatility since 1957, Cezeta (pronounced Chuh-zeh-tuh) was conceived in Czechoslovakia as the Communist world's vehicle for the masses

The development and production of vehicle, which would be comfortable to use, offer protection against bad weather and come close to a car, was the aim of all motorbike manufacturers in the 1950s

For its first model, Cezeta picked up its styling from the fashionable space age look of the time. It's designer was Jaroslav František Koch - a renowned racer and engineer and something of a genius in Czechoslovak motorcycles. He called his first Cezeta scooter the 'Type 501' and it was hailed as an instant classic of the so-called 'Brussels' design movement.

It's missile shape exuded sass and sex appeal - and combining this its rugged practicality made it a massive hit. Over 120,000 were sold to fans from Cuba to Vietnam as the series developed into further models: 502 and 505. If it was possible to capture all the excitement of Sputnik, Gagarin and all the modernist wonders of the post war period then this was it. Home in Prague, it got the nickname The Pig... that's not an insult, Czechs really love pigs. Though the scooters were enormously popular all over the world, priorities in Communist government direction ended this first phase of production of Cezeta in 1964.

History of Cezeta scooters

A new chapter began in 2017 with the Cezeta 'Type 506', launched as a special edition to mark the 60th anniversary of the brand. It was developed by Neil Eamonn Smith and was the first EV to be built in the Czech Republic - and one of the first electric scooters to be built anywhere in Europe. The original vintage design had minimum changes but underneath it was an all new electric power unit, new brakes' system and new suspension, all designed for easy use. Since the Type 506 was a special-limited edition of only 60 scooters, it was one of the world's rarest production electric scooters. Following on from this, the entirely new Type 507 was released in 2024.

When we launched the Type 506, our motto was 'because good things should continue'. By that we mean the original idea for a practical 2-wheeled vehicle to replace the problems caused by unsustainable car transport. This is something that seems to make even more sense now than it ever has.
- Neil Eamonn Smith

Read more details about the history of models by following the links in the right column. Owners manuals and other information is also available for all these vintage models in Owners' Guides.

Vintage models