In early 2012, the rights to the Čezeta name and design were purchased by Prague-based British expatriate, Neil Eamonn Smith. His story is a simple one of someone finding a passion and turning it into a business. Neil started collecting and restoring original Čezeta’s as a hobby. But with a desire to bring back this hidden gem as an electric scooter, he partnered with the Czech Technical University in Prague and developed key components that make the Čezeta a thrilling to ride yet simple to maintain electric scooter. With that in mind the aim of the company soon became to build ‘the world’s finest electric scooter’, and in so doing to put the Czech Republic back on the motorcycle map.
He set up the Čezeta Motors s.r.o. company in 2013 to begin the production of a new generation of scooters under the Čezeta name. The first of this new generation debuted in late 2017 as the ‘Type 506’.
While the new generation of the scooter has faithfully kept the look of the classic line, everything else is different. The 506 series is fully electric rather than petrol powered. Along with this innovation, it also sports ultra-premium components from manufacturers like Panasonic, Rizoma and Beringer. Taken altogether, it is one of the world’s highest specification electric scooters, reaching motorway-cruising speeds of 120km/h and offering long distance touring with it’s 6kWh battery giving 150km range.
In early 2018, the Czech Republic’s most successful crowd-funding campaigns raised 20m CZK (800,000 euro) to fund the factory and the first limited-edition of the ultra-premium ‘First Series’ 506. It’s aims are to build know-how with the technology, to gain knowledge of the EV market and to create buzz that Čezeta ‘is back’. Only 50 Čezeta Type 506s are built annually at the factory located in Olomouc, in the east of the Czech Republic.
A large part of Čezeta’s work involves education about electric vehicles and encouraging people to overcome their fears and experience this new electric technology. To get people riding, a rental business was opened in Prague in June 2019. The name? Rent-a-Pig 🙂 The response has been immediate with over 300 people signing up to experience the new Čezeta.
The “Pig” in the future
A cheaper mass-produced version ‘Type 507’ is being prepared for 2020 based on the platform of the tested 506. It will come in two versions: an economical moped-class version capable of 250-300km range for city use, and a powerful highway cruiser capable of 100km/h for suburban area use.
Both Čezeta will be available to buy at a target price of 8000€ or as a ‘service’, where all the costs of repairs, upgrades and insurance are covered in a single monthly subscription fee. In addition, there will be fossil-free solar charging stations and an attractive battery swapping system, all developed with the aim of fulfilling the company’s mission to build the world’s finest electric scooters.
Earlier post(s) about Čezeta at EMN: