The Kasinski Prima was a 150 cc scooter from Kasinski, a Brazilian manufacturer of two- and three-wheeled vehicles. It was one of the scooters in a range that also covered motorcycles, mopeds and small utility vehicles, and it used the largest engine size listed among the brand’s scooters.
Kasinski Prima at a glance
| Maker | Kasinski, Brazil |
|---|---|
| Type | scooter |
| Engine size | 150 cc |
| Other scooters in the range | Soft, Supercab, Win |
| Company founded | 1999, by Abraham Kasinski |
| Technical basis | industrial facilities and motorcycle rights bought from the Korean assembler Hyosung |
| Range in 2002 | ten motorcycle models, average nationalisation 65% |
| Plant output | not more than 600 units a month |
| Owner from 2009 | CR Zongshen group, with half Brazilian and half Chinese capital |
| End of production | motorcycles not made since 2014; production had been suspended in 2013 |
Based on one source: the Wikipedia article on Kasinski, which lists the Prima with its capacity and type but gives it no article of its own. No free photograph of the Prima was available, so the earlier cover picture of the record is kept.
History of the Kasinski Prima
A scooter in a motorcycle range
Kasinski described itself as a maker of two- and three-wheeled vehicles: motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and small utility vehicles. The Prima belonged to the scooter side of that range, with a 150 cc engine, and it was listed together with the Soft, the Supercab and the Win. The rest of the catalogue was made up of the Comet standards and sport bikes, the Mirage cruisers, the Seta and Flash standards and the CRZ off-road machines.
The company behind it
Kasinski was founded in 1999 by Abraham Kasinski. Production started with the purchase of the industrial facilities of the Korean assembler Hyosung, a deal that included the rights to continue manufacturing Hyosung’s motorcycle line under the Kasinski brand; cargo tricycles with technology from India’s Bajaj Auto were assembled alongside. By 2002 the company offered ten motorcycle models with an average nationalisation index of 65 percent.
The end of the road
Despite good sales, output never grew beyond 600 units a month, and the cargo tricycles expected to reach 1,500 units a month never did. Abraham Kasinski sold the company in July 2009 to the CR Zongshen group, with half Brazilian and half Chinese capital. A new factory at Sapucaia in Rio de Janeiro state, announced in 2010 for electric motorcycles, did not save the firm: production was suspended in 2013 amid legal and labour problems, and since 2014 Kasinski has not manufactured motorcycles.
Design and features
- 150 cc scooter: the biggest engine size listed among the brand’s scooters.
- Part of a broad range: sold next to motorcycles, mopeds and off-road bikes.
- Hyosung roots: the brand was built on rights to the Korean maker’s motorcycle line.
- Brazilian content: the 2002 range averaged 65 percent nationalisation.
- Small-scale output: the plant never built more than 600 vehicles a month.
Kasinski Prima versions
- Prima: the 150 cc scooter.
- Soft: another scooter of the range.
- Supercab: another scooter of the range.
- Win: the 110 cc cub listed with the scooters.
The Prima was sold alongside the Win cub and the Comet motorcycles. More machines are in the Kasinski collection.
Sources
- Kasinski, Portuguese Wikipedia: company history, model list, capacities and types
- Kasinski, English Wikipedia: company history, model list
