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What does the European Right to Repair entail?
The new European Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799 is intended to make product repair more accessible and more attractive. The broader aim is to encourage more sustainable consumer behaviour by making repair a more viable alternative to replacing or discarding a defective product.
For certain products, consumers will have the right to require the manufacturer to carry out a repair even after the seller’s statutory liability period has expired. This repair obligation does not apply to every product, but only to product categories covered by specific EU repairability requirements.
For products containing batteries, the repairability requirements under the EU Battery Regulation are therefore particularly relevant.
Preparing for Right to Repair
For products covered by the repair obligation, manufacturers must ensure that repair is available at a reasonable price and within a reasonable period. The repair itself may be outsourced to a specialised repair partner such as Heskon.
Need help translating the requirements of the EU Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799 into a practical approach for your organisation?
Complete the form below and we can discuss what the Directive means for your organisation and how it may affect your existing service and repair processes.
Right to Repair at a glance
Key provisions of Directive (EU) 2024/1799
| Right to request repair | For covered products, consumers can request repair from the manufacturer even after the seller’s liability period has expired. |
| Manufacturer repair obligation | The product does not have to be purchased directly from the manufacturer. The repair obligation can also apply when it was bought through a dealer or retailer. |
| Reasonable repair price | Manufacturers may charge for repair, but the price must be reasonable and must not discourage consumers from choosing repair. |
| No refusal for economic reasons alone | Repair cannot be refused solely because replacement would be cheaper. It may be refused where repair is impossible. |
| No unjustified barriers to repair | Manufacturers may not use contractual terms, hardware or software to prevent repair without legitimate justification. |
| Non-EU manufacturers are also covered | If the manufacturer is based outside the EU, the repair obligation must be fulfilled by its authorised representative in the EU. If there is no authorised representative, the obligation can pass to the importer and ultimately the distributor. |
Right to Repair for batteries: Q&A
What changes most under Right to Repair?
Right to Repair adds a new right for selected product categories: once the seller’s liability period has ended, consumers may still request a repair from the manufacturer. The manufacturer may charge a reasonable price for this repair.
Does Right to Repair mean that every defective battery must be repaired?
Manufacturers are also not required to repair a product where repair is technically impossible under the applicable product requirements, for example because of irreparable physical damage. However, the fact that repair is more expensive than replacement, that spare parts are costly or that repair is commercially unattractive is not, by itself, a valid reason to refuse repair.
Does Right to Repair apply to all battery categories?
Key Right to Repair dates
For products incorporating LMT batteries (batteries for light means of transport), the new Right to Repair rules and the repairability requirements under the EU Battery Regulation take effect within a relatively short period of each other.
Right to Repair enters into force
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 enters into force, introducing new EU rules aimed at promoting the repair of goods.
National rules start to apply
EU Member States must have transposed the Right to Repair Directive into national law and apply those measures from this date.
LMT battery repairability requirements
Article 11 of the EU Battery Regulation starts to apply. LMT batteries and the individual cells within the battery pack must be readily removable and replaceable by an independent professional.
European online repair platform
The European Commission must have developed the common online interface for the European repair platform, helping consumers find repairers and repair services across the EU.
What does the repair obligation mean in practice for battery manufacturers?
Under the Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799, manufacturers may need to make repair available when a consumer requests it, while keeping the cost at a reasonable level. They also need to allow independent professional repairers to carry out repairs without being unnecessarily restricted by software or hardware barriers.
The main implications of the new Directive include:
Repair on request
- For products covered by the repair obligation, manufacturers must ensure that repair is available at the consumer’s request.
- If the manufacturer is established outside the EU, the obligation falls to its authorised representative. If there is no authorised representative, it passes to the importer.
Price and timeframe
- Repair must be provided free of charge or at a reasonable price, and completed within a reasonable period.
- If spare parts and tools are made available, their price must not discourage repair.
Access for independent repairers
- Manufacturers may not use contractual terms, hardware or software to block repair without legitimate and objective reasons.
- For LMT batteries, the Battery Regulation also requires the battery and the individual cells in the battery pack to be readily removable and replaceable by an independent professional. Software must not be used to impede replacement of the battery or its key components.
Access to repair information
- Consumers must be able to easily find clear information about the repair services available to them.
- Indicative prices for typical repairs must also be available on a website that consumers can access free of charge.
Why are ‘Right to Repair’ and the ‘EU Battery Regulation’ particularly relevant for light means of transport?
Right to Repair applies to product categories that are already subject to specific EU repairability requirements. In other words, these products already have rules governing how they must be designed for repair.
For lithium batteries, the relevant repairability requirements are set out in the EU Battery Regulation. Even though not every battery category is included, goods containing batteries for light means of transport (LMT batteries) are specifically covered by Right to Repair Directive (EU) 2024/1799.
Battery Regulation 2023/1542
What technical repairability requirements apply to batteries under EU law?
The Regulation covers five battery categories:
- Portable batteries
- SLI batteries
- EV batteries
- Industrial batteries
- LMT batteries
→ These requirements provide the technical basis for the repairability of LMT batteries.
Right to Repair 2024/1799
When does the repair obligation apply?
This obligation only applies to product categories that are already subject to specific EU repairability requirements and are explicitly covered by the Directive:
- Washing machines and tumble dryers
- Dishwashers
- Refrigerating appliances
- Electronic displays
- Welding equipment
- Vacuum cleaners
- Servers and data storage products
- Mobile phones and tablets
- Products containing LMT batteries
→ This means that the repair obligation also applies to certain products containing LMT batteries.
Products containing LMT batteries
What does this mean for manufacturers of products containing LMT batteries?
The Battery Regulation sets the technical requirements for the repairability and replaceability of LMT batteries. Right to Repair builds on those requirements by making repair available to consumers in certain situations.
Put simply: the Battery Regulation determines what must technically be repairable or replaceable, while Right to Repair determines when the manufacturer must make repair available to the consumer.
For manufacturers of e-bikes and other light electric vehicles, this means that repairability increasingly needs to be considered both in product design and in the organisation of aftersales and service.
→ Repair is therefore no longer just an optional aftersales service, but something that needs to be considered when designing the product and setting up the service infrastructure around it.
Putting Right to Repair into practice
The new repair obligation means manufacturers need a practical process in place to handle repair requests from consumers.
Consumers must be able to find the available repair service, while repair requests need to be handled within a reasonable timeframe.
In practice, this means defining the repair process in advance: who receives the request, where is the battery repaired and how is it returned to the consumer?
- A repair solution in place: With Heskon as your dedicated repair partner, you can establish a practical repair solution without having to build the technical capability in-house.
- Repair close to your customers: Batteries can be repaired within Europe, close to your customers and service network, helping to reduce transport distances and turnaround times.
- Focus on your core business: Keep your focus on your core activities while strengthening your aftersales process with a specialised service partner.
Ready to prepare for Right to Repair?
Tell us about your project using the form below. We will contact you within 3–5 business days to discuss the possibilities.