The Dutch Have Built an EV So Simple Even a Toddler Could Repair It — A New Era of Right-to-Repair Cars Begins

A group of engineering students in the Netherlands may have just created every dealership service manager’s worst nightmare — and every consumer’s dream. The team from Eindhoven University of Technology has unveiled ARIA, a modular, self-repairable electric vehicle designed around a simple principle: anyone should be able to fix their own car, anywhere.

In an industry built on expensive service plans, proprietary diagnostics, and increasingly unrepairable electronics, ARIA is a playful but deeply serious challenge to the status quo.

ARIA: A Car Designed to Be Fixed, Not Replaced

ARIA — short for Anyone Repairs It Anywhere — is a prototype EV with a philosophy radically different from mainstream automakers. Instead of sealing components behind glued bodywork or bundling expensive assemblies, ARIA breaks the vehicle into easily replaceable modules.

Its design philosophy draws directly from the Right to Repair movement, which advocates for long-lasting products that can be serviced by their owners.

The result?
A car built more like a modern appliance than a traditional automobile — but in the best, most empowering way possible.

Specs That Don’t Impress on Paper… and Don’t Need To

Nobody will confuse ARIA for a performance machine. It offers:

• Top speed: 56 mph

• Range: 137 miles

But the numbers aren’t the point. ARIA isn’t meant for autobahns or cross-country road trips. It’s a proof of concept for something the auto industry has fought against for decades: a car that doesn’t force you into dealership dependency.

Six Modular Batteries Instead of One Giant Pack

The most radical part of ARIA is its battery system.

Instead of a single, expensive, difficult-to-service pack, ARIA uses:

• 6 independent, interchangeable battery modules

• Total capacity: ~13 kWh

If one module fails, the owner simply replaces that one module rather than a multi-thousand-euro full pack. It’s the EV equivalent of swapping a dead AA battery instead of replacing your entire remote control.

This design alone is a revolution — financially, environmentally, and technically.

DIY Repairs Powered by an App and a Toolbox

The vehicle includes a diagnostic interface and an app that:

• Identifies the faulty component

• Provides step-by-step repair instructions

• Guides the user through the process

With a small included toolbox, most repairs can be done at home — no service center, no appointments, no dealership coffee.

This is the kind of thinking that could redefine ownership for an entire generation.

Students Challenge the Industry With a Prototype — Not a Product

ARIA is not going on sale, and the team has no plans to commercialize it.
That may be for the best — the first automaker to launch a vehicle this repair-friendly would likely go broke from lost service revenue before customers even finished celebrating.

Instead, project leader Taco Olmer says the team wants the EU to expand its Right-to-Repair regulations to include passenger cars. If that happens, automakers may need to rethink decades of strategy built on parts monopolies.

OEM executives everywhere are probably sweating through their suits.

The Concept Isn’t Perfect — Yet

Modular design introduces unknowns:

• Long-term durability hasn’t been proven

• More seams and detachable components may create new maintenance challenges

• Performance is modest at best (acceleration apparently measured in calendar days)

But even with its limitations, ARIA demonstrates something crucial:

Repairable EVs are absolutely possible.

A Friendly Automotive Revolution

ARIA turns the traditional relationship between driver and car upside down.
Instead of “bring it to us,” the message is:

“Here, you fix it. You own the car — not the other way around.”

It may be a prototype today, but if major manufacturers ignore ideas like this, they may find future buyers choosing vehicles they can repair themselves rather than paying a mechanic hundreds just to unplug a sensor.

ARIA is the spark of a revolution — one modular component at a time.

Dutch engineering students have created ARIA, a modular EV designed for easy self-repair using interchangeable battery modules and app-guided diagnostics. The prototype challenges the auto industry’s reliance on dealership service revenue and supports the growing Right-to-Repair movement. With six removable batteries, fixable body modules, and DIY-friendly design, ARIA demonstrates that affordable, sustainable, repairable EVs are both possible and practical.