Antonino Malaguti, a twenty-two-year-old former promising cyclist, opened his workshop in Bologna in 1930 as a resale and repair shop for bicycles. The business survived the bombing campaigns of World War II and immediately after the war began building a simple motorised two-wheeler: an economical machine with a central beam frame of cycling derivation and roller traction powered by a Mosquito motor. Through gradual development, this evolved into mopeds with front and rear suspension, drum brakes, a larger tank, and a 49cc two-stroke engine supplied by the German firm Express Werke. The resulting "Express" and "Express Sport" mopeds went on sale in 1957.
Through the early 1960s, Malaguti's output was focused on economical utility mopeds for carrying people and goods. The economic boom and mass motorisation of the mid-1960s shifted demand toward recreational mopeds for young riders. In 1963, following a supply agreement with Motori Franco Morini, Malaguti introduced the 50 Gransport sports moped, which achieved solid sales in France under the name 50 Olympique. Later in the decade the 50 Roncobilaccio joined the range as one of Italy's first off-road mopeds.
Malaguti participated in the 125cc class of the Motorcycle World Championship during the 1960s and into the 1970s. The 125cc category was one of the most intensely contested classes in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, with Italian, Spanish, and Japanese manufacturers all competing for points. Malaguti's presence in this class — alongside the company's focus on producing small, light, and agile machines — made the Grand Prix programme a natural extension of its manufacturing identity.
From the 1970s onward, Malaguti shifted focus toward the profitable scooter market while maintaining its Fifty moped line, which continued to sell well. In 1974, the Fifty established itself as one of the most successful Italian mopeds. Further moped models followed — the Track, Drop, and Dribbling — before a 1985 enduro motorcycle, the Malaguti Runner 125, extended the range.
In 1992, Malaguti launched the Centro, one of the first modern high-wheeled scooters produced in Italy. The 1994 Phantom scooter became the company's most commercially successful model, with production continuing for thirteen years until the end of 2007 when it was replaced by the Phantom R. Malaguti developed a long-standing supply relationship with German motor company Sachs and established partnerships with Yamaha for larger-displacement scooter engines.
In the early 2000s, Malaguti invested heavily in the medium-to-large scooter segment, producing models from the small Ciak and new Centro to the larger Madison, Blog, Password, and SpiderMax — the latter developed by Engines Engineering with a 500cc Piaggio Master engine. The company also maintained a close relationship with Ducati, producing Ducati Corse models and replicas.
Malaguti was an early entrant into the electric scooter sector. The Ciak Electric Power, developed with Engines Engineering and powered by a 12-volt lead-acid battery pack with a 1.23 kW brushless motor, launched in November 2000 and remained in production until 2007. In the same year, Malaguti presented prototypes of a dual-fuel Madison 125 running on either petrol or LPG, with a 4-litre supplementary tank and solenoid valve for fuel selection.
By the late 2000s, competition from low-price mopeds and motorcycles from Asia eroded Malaguti's market position. Government financial support ended in the same period that the company's difficulties became critical. Production at the factory stopped in April 2011, with the doors officially closing on 31 October 2011. Around 170 workers lost their jobs and received severance payments. Seventeen employees were retained to fulfil spare parts obligations and dismantle the production line. The company closed carrying a capital of 40 million euros.
In 2018, the Austrian KSR Group GmbH purchased the Malaguti brand name. The first new range of motorcycles carrying the Malaguti badge appeared in February 2019, comprising rebadged machines from partners including Derbi, GPX, Jincheng, and WMoto, spanning 125cc to 300cc segments in scrambler, naked, adventure, and sport configurations.