Students build electric car that you can repair yourself

ARIA is the latest sustainable city EV from the TU/ecomotive student team. Thanks to its modular design, drivers can carry out minor repairs themselves without having to rely on the manufacturer. The students want to use this to stimulate the automotive industry and challenge European policymakers to look further ahead.

Built module by module

The car is composed of separate, easy-to-replace parts: the batteries, the body panels, and the electronic modules in the interior. If something breaks, you don't have to replace the entire system, just the defective part. With standard parts, clear instructions, a built-in tool kit, and an app that reads the car's data, maintenance is accessible to everyone.

Well-thought-out battery design

One of the most striking choices is the battery pack. Instead of one large, heavy battery, ARIA uses six compact modules weighing approximately 12 kilograms. You can remove them by hand—it feels almost as natural as changing the batteries in your remote control. Together, they provide 12.96 kWh of energy.

Click-on bodywork

The exterior is also cleverly constructed. If damaged, you can simply click the panel off and replace it with a new one in a matter of minutes. Removing such a panel gives you direct access to the technology behind it. This panel system was designed by a student at Summa.

Preventing EVs from being discarded too quickly

With ARIA, the team wants to offer a solution to the growing problem of electric cars becoming increasingly difficult to repair. Many EV batteries are fixed in the chassis, parts are hardly standardised, and independent garages have difficulty obtaining the right materials. In addition, there is a shortage of mechanics trained in complex electric drives. As a result, vehicles end up in the scrapyard unnecessarily early.

TU/ecomotive is affiliated with Right to Repair Europe, a coalition of some 180 organisations from 30 countries—from environmental groups to repair companies. The group is fighting for better regulations so that parts, including EV batteries, remain accessible, replaceable, and repairable.