Mecachrome moved its head office from France to Canada in 2003 and went public in 2008, shortly before the global economic crisis. Its share price fell from a high of $13.55 to 15 cents per share. By July 2008 the company made job cuts in both Canada and France, with production shifting to Canada due to excess capacity caused by delays to the Boeing 787, for which Mecachrome was a supplier. In November 2008 the Casella family — majority shareholders and descendants of the original founders — stepped aside, and Christian Jacqmin was appointed CEO. Financial restructuring was completed by end of 2008.
In April 2014 Mecachrome signed a supply agreement with Safran for the manufacture of the new LEAP engine, used across a range of Airbus, Boeing, and COMAC aircraft. In 2015 Airbus announced Mecachrome as the manufacturer of nose landing gear bays for its new Beluga aircraft; Mecachrome already worked with Airbus on the A320, A330, A380, and A400M. In 2022 Mecachrome acquired the WeAre group, expanding its manufacturing capability to 20 sites across five continents.
In April 2019 Christian Cornille became CEO, targeting €1 billion in turnover. Reported revenues for 2020 were €220 million, with over 2,500 employees. In 2021 the company changed its registered address from Amboise to Blagnac. As of 2024, aerospace accounts for 56% of Mecachrome's international sales, covering structural parts such as wing spars, fuselage sections, and sheet metal parts for Airbus, Boeing, Dassault, and Embraer, including the Dassault Rafale and its Snecma M88 engine.
Mecachrome's involvement with Renault Sport, the motorsport division of Renault, dates from 1977. From 1983 Mecachrome was given responsibility for preparing and assembling Renault engines supplied to customer teams: Lotus in 1983 and Ligier in 1984. After Renault withdrew from Formula One following the 1987 season, it returned in 1989 as an engine supplier to Williams, with Mecachrome again responsible for engine preparation. Ligier was added as a Renault customer from 1992.
Renault-badged engines prepared by Mecachrome powered Williams and Benetton to six consecutive Constructors' World Championships between 1992 and 1997, and five Drivers' titles: Nigel Mansell (1992), Alain Prost (1993), Michael Schumacher (1995), Damon Hill (1996), and Jacques Villeneuve (1997). In 1995 Benetton acquired Ligier's stock of Renault V10 engines to the same specification as Williams. When Renault was privatised and announced its withdrawal after the 1997 season, Mecachrome agreed to pay Renault for development work so the relationship could continue. The 1998 engines supplied to Williams carried the Mecachrome name; Benetton's engines were badged as Playlife.
In 1998 Flavio Briatore's company Super Performance Competition Engineering signed a distribution agreement with Mecachrome for the 1999 season, rebadging the engines as Supertec. Supertec units powered Williams and BAR in 1999 and Arrows in 2000, while Benetton continued under the Playlife brand.
When Renault returned to Formula One in 2001 by purchasing the Benetton team, the division of responsibilities remained unchanged: Renault handled research, design, assembly, preparation, maintenance, and trackside support, while Mecachrome continued its established role. The collaboration contributed to Renault's Constructors' and Drivers' Championships in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso.
Mecachrome-assembled Renault engines powered Red Bull Racing to the Constructors' Championship and driver Sebastian Vettel to the World Drivers' Championship in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Mecachrome also supported Renault Energy F1 hybrid power unit build, development, and assembly from the 2014 V6 turbo-hybrid era onwards.
On 29 September 2024, Renault announced it would end its works engine programme and cease providing engines for Alpine after 2025, when revised engine regulations come into force in 2026, ending Mecachrome's long-standing Formula One collaboration with Renault. Groupe Renault CEO Luca de Meo cited financial reasons, stating it would be cheaper to purchase a power unit from another manufacturer than to continue developing one in-house. In May 2025, media reports indicated that Mecachrome had signed a deal to remain in Formula One as an engine parts supplier. In 2017 Mecachrome declared interest in providing a standardised budget engine for Formula One, in addition to its GP2 and GP3 supply deals.
The GP2 Series, conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore as the official feeder category to Formula One, launched in 2005. Mecachrome was tasked with producing the series' Renault-badged engines, manufactured at the same base as the Renault F1 units in Aubigny, France, with direction from Heini Mader in Switzerland. Mecachrome continued supplying engines and gearboxes for the GP2 Series' second generation (2008–2010) and for the new-for-2008 GP2 Asia Series with slightly detuned power units. From the 2011 season Renault Sport ceased badging the Mecachrome engines, focusing instead on its Formula One programme.
The V8 GP2/F2 engines were jointly developed with TEOS Engineering for design, tune-up, R&D, maintenance, and trackside support. The V8 formula ran from 2005 through the end of the 2017 season. For 2018, new regulations introduced a 620 hp 3,400 cc V6 single-turbocharged direct-injected engine, known as the Mecachrome V634 Turbo, developed from the naturally aspirated Mecachrome V634 used in the GP3 Series. TEOS Engineering renewed its subcontract with Mecachrome for 2018 and beyond. Van Der Lee Turbo Systems of the Netherlands supplies the turbochargers for all FIA Formula 2 Championship engines.
Mecachrome was selected as official engine partner and supplier for the GP3 Series from the 2016 season, alongside the launch of the Dallara GP3/16 car. The Mecachrome V634 GP3/F3 engines are jointly developed with TEOS Engineering. Despite the unveiling of the new Dallara F3 2019 car, the V634 remained in service for all FIA Formula 3 competitors through at least the 2024 season.
In 2017 Mecachrome partnered with Ginetta as engine supplier for the G60-LT-P1 LMP1 Prototype, providing the V634P1 — a turbocharged variant of the V634 F2 engine — with turbochargers again supplied by Van Der Lee Turbo Systems. The Ginetta G60-LT-P1, run by CEFC TRSM, entered the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship. After withdrawing from the opening WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps and finishing fifth in class (41st overall) at Le Mans, Ginetta dropped the V634P1 in favour of AER P60B engines, citing a performance deficit and Mecachrome's lack of responsiveness to requests for a development programme. Mecachrome Motorsport confirmed it intended to continue its LMP1 engine programme but had not found further customers. Ginetta technical director Ewan Baldry acknowledged the Le Mans engine was a first-specification unit, and that it was underpowered and had not met the contractually agreed performance targets.
From the 2024 WEC season, Mecachrome supplied engines for the two Alpine A424 entries, providing a heavily modified version of the V634 Formula 2 engine. At the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, both Alpines retired with engine issues: the #35 car stopped at Arnage after five hours with smoke visible from the car; the #36 ended its race in the pits during hour six.
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