Students at TU Eindhoven have developed a compact electric city car designed for easy self-repair, as part of a project aimed at promoting sustainability and influencing both automotive industry practices and European regulation.
The battery-electric concept car, named Aria, was created by the TU/ecomotive student team and features a modular design that allows users to replace individual components without relying on manufacturers for minor repairs.
The students said Aria is built around detachable modules, including the battery, body panels and interior electronics. “Users can repair the car themselves and are no longer dependent on the manufacturer for minor fixes,” the team said.
The 13-kWh battery consists of six individual modules, each weighing about 12 kilograms, which can be removed and replaced manually. The body panels are also detachable, providing direct access to underlying components. The vehicle is supported by repair manuals, standardised parts, a built-in toolbox and a diagnostic app that displays the car’s status to guide users through maintenance tasks.
The project is intended to address what the students see as growing repairability challenges in modern electric vehicles, where batteries are often integrated into the chassis and parts are difficult for independent workshops to source. Team leader Taco Olme said this trend weakens the overall sustainability of electric mobility. He welcomed the European Union’s right-to-repair legislation adopted in 2024 but said current rules largely focus on household appliances and electronics rather than vehicles.
“The new European rules are a step forward, but they mainly focus on household appliances and consumer electronics. EVs still fall through the cracks,” Olme said. “With Aria, we show what is possible and hope to encourage the EU to apply those rules to passenger cars as well.”
The students said their goal is not to bring Aria into mass production but to demonstrate alternative design principles to policymakers and manufacturers. “At the same time, we want to show the automotive industry that sustainable and practical design really is achievable,” Olme added. “If we can build this within a year, there are opportunities for the industry.”