Aixam 325 D History

The 325 D was Aixam's inaugural production model, launched in 1984, one year after the company acquired the bankrupt Arola microcar business. It established Aixam's core formula: a lightweight composite body, independent MacPherson-strut front suspension, and a small diesel engine — originally a Lombardini 325 cc unit producing around 3.25 kW — in a package governed to 45 km/h and accessible without a conventional driving licence in France.

Dimensions were deliberately minimal (length approximately 2.46 m, width 1.30 m) to navigate narrow French urban streets. The 325 D also made Aixam one of the earliest microcar manufacturers to submit a product to crash testing — a notable milestone given that such tests were not legally required for quadricycles at the time. The model remained in production through the 1980s and into the 1990s until the Revolution-generation refresh replaced the old body (sources do not fix a precise end year; the changeover fell around 1997–1998).