Aixam 400 D History

Introduced in 1985, just a year after the 325 D, the 400 D stepped up to a 400 cc twin-cylinder water-cooled Kubota Z400H indirect-injection diesel producing approximately 7.2 kW (9.8 hp). At 2.60 m long — some 14 cm longer than the 325 D — it offered more interior room while retaining a composite sandwich body construction.

The 400 D's higher-displacement engine pushed its top speed toward 75 km/h, placing it in the 'TQM' (heavy quadricycle) category that required a basic B1 licence rather than no licence at all. This split the Aixam range early into fully licence-free and licence-light tiers — a commercial strategy the company maintained for decades. The Kubota diesel relationship established here became a signature of the Aixam brand. The original 400 D ran until the Revolution-generation 400 series superseded it in the late 1990s (sources do not pin an exact end year).