The company was first established in 1971 as IDIADA, standing for the Catalan initials of Institut d'Investigació Aplicada de l'Automòbil at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. In 1990, IDIADA was separated from the university and established as an independent company owned by the Government of Catalonia. IDIADA A.T. has been operating under an exclusive contract from the 351-hectare technology centre near Barcelona since 1999. The contract to operate the business runs until September 2024 and although it is renewable in five year periods until 2049, the current expectation is that there will be no further extensions but a tender for a new 20-year concession. Since 1997, IDIADA has opened multiple offices globally.In 2016 Applus+ IDIADA started managing a new proving ground in China, and in 2018 Applus+ acquired, a vehicle passive safety testing and engineering company in the United States.
