The present company was formed when two McLaren Technology Group companies, McLaren Composites and TAG Electronics, merged due to the sale of Audiolab to International Audio Group. TAG Electronics Holdings was the parent company of TAGMcLaren Audio (Now Audiolab) and also TAG Electronics Systems. When Audiolab was sold, the holding company TAG Electronics Holdings was scrapped and the remaining technology company merged with McLaren Composites, which formed McLaren Applied Technologies. Its early operations included the manufacture of parts for the McLaren F1 and Mercedes SLR, and it also won contracts to manufacture parts for other companies and moved into the energy industry, mainly solar panels.
The company was initially known as McLaren Composites; it was dissolved in 2003 and replaced with McLaren Applied Technologies a short while after in 2004. The company name was changed again on 2 January 2020 to McLaren Applied.
In 2007, the firm secured the contract to supply engine control units to the IndyCar Series, becoming the series' standard ECU supplier in 2010, replacing Motorola.
A defining milestone reached in 2008 saw the company become the sole provider of the Standard Electronic Control Unit (SECU) for the Formula One World Championship, a standardized hardware mandated for all competitors. The company’s influence expanded further in 2012 when it was selected to provide the control electronics for the NASCAR Cup Series as that category transitioned from carburation to fuel injection.
In September 2014, Ian Rhodes replaced the founder, Ron Dennis, as CEO of the company. During the inaugural 2014–2015 Formula E season, the firm produced the electric motor, transmission, and electronics for the Spark-Renault SRT 01E, the spec chassis used by the entire grid.
The company underwent a period of significant corporate transition starting in 2020, when it was renamed McLaren Applied. In 2021, following financial distress within the McLaren Group caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the division was sold to the private investment firm Greybull Capital. Operating as a fully independent entity, the company received substantial investment in its facilities and staff. In August 2025, the organization rebranded from McLaren Applied to its current name, Motion Applied.
The company is a longstanding supplier of automotive grade components, specialising in vehicle electrification, particularly inverters. Its current fifth generation product, known as IPG5, is based on an 800v Silicon Carbide architecture offering significantly improved efficiency, performance and control fidelity.
Motion Applied delivers stable connectivity for unstable environments, including public transport and mining through the first 5G edge computing antenna in addition to F1-derived software. It recently launched the Halo300 antenna range.
The company has a history of undertaking pioneering technical projects across diverse sectors. In 2010, the firm developed systems that supported Team GB's 2012 London Olympics medal bids in rowing, sailing and cycling. It also collaborated with Specialized Bicycle Components to produce the Specialized S-Works+McLaren Venge racing bike, as ridden by Mark Cavendish.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) worked with the company on developing drugs, vaccines and medication, and improving the efficiency of their manufacturing processes. The company enabled GSK's toothpaste production line at Maidenhead to cut the time it takes to change over one toothpaste brand or flavour to another from 39 minutes to 15 minutes, resulting in the factory becoming more productive to the tune of 6.7 million tubes of toothpaste a year. Motion Applied also provided electronics and data for the Ekofisk drilling plant in the North Sea, applying its expertise in analysing large data sets to optimize drilling operations. Furthermore, the company collaborated with Wind Turbines companies and data centre companies, including IO on the design of their data centres and cooling systems.
In August 2023, Lavoie, the company's electric scooter unit, purchased Dutch e-bike manufacturer VanMoof.
The company has won multiple Queen's Awards for Enterprise for innovation and international trade. The company won the Motorsport Industry Association's prestigious 2022 Business Excellence award for Technology & Innovation. The company has also earned several e-mobility awards for its advancements in vehicle electrification.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted. Primary archives, autobiographies, period programmes, and specialist publications were not used in the creation of this article.