The Torrance, California-based ECU specialist founded in New Zealand joins Cobb Tuning, AutoMeter, and ECUTek under one private equity roof.
Hondata is gone. Engineered Performance Technologies Group confirmed the acquisition in May. The Torrance, California company — founded in New Zealand in 1999 and Doug MacMillan — now operates inside a private equity portfolio that already controls seven other aftermarket brands. Eight total, since 2007.
The deal extends a consolidation pattern that has reshaped the specialist aftermarket tuning sector over the past decade. EPT Group's portfolio — which includes Cobb Tuning, ECUTek, PRL, and AutoMeter — now covers multiple OEM ecosystems, from Subaru to Honda. According to EPT Group's acquisition press release, shared with Motor1 in July 2025, Stevens, MacMillan, and the existing Hondata team will remain in their current roles.
From New Zealand Garage to California to Private Equity Hands
Derek Stevens and Doug MacMillan co-founded Hondata in 1999 in New Zealand. They relocated the business to the United States in the early 2000s and established headquarters in Torrance, California — the same Southern California corridor that houses suppliers to Honda's North American operations. The company built its reputation on software tools that allow Honda and Acura owners to modify engine control unit parameters: fuel maps, ignition timing, boost targets on forced-induction builds. Word of the acquisition surfaced first through a Facebook group press release that drew scepticism. EPT Group then confirmed the deal directly. The transaction closed in May 2025, though no announcement appeared on Hondata's own channels at the time. Stevens and MacMillan will continue running day-to-day operations, according to EPT's statement — a retention structure EPT has used with prior acquisitions. This article sits within our broader coverage of industry restructuring in 2026, where aftermarket consolidation is accelerating alongside OEM-level M&A.
Eight Acquisitions, One Group: The EPT Portfolio by the Numbers
EPT Group states it has completed eight acquisitions since its founding in 2007 — a span of 18 years. That is roughly one deal every 2.25 years on average, though the pace has not been uniform. The confirmed current portfolio includes Cobb Tuning, PRL Motorsports, ECUTek, AutoMeter, and now Hondata — five named brands, with additional holdings referenced but not individually listed in the July 2025 press release. Cobb Tuning alone has historically served multiple OEM platforms: Subaru, Ford, Porsche, and Mitsubishi in addition to Honda applications. AutoMeter, founded in 1957 in Sycamore, Illinois, manufactures analogue and digital gauges; its product catalogue runs to more than 8,000 SKUs according to the company's own marketing materials. Hondata's product range is narrower — concentrated on Honda K-series, B-series, and more recent 1.5-litre turbocharged applications. Five brands visible in the portfolio, eight acquisitions declared: three acquired entities remain publicly unidentified. Calculation: 8 acquisitions − 5 named brands = 3 undisclosed holdings.
Jeff King's Welcome Statement and What It Leaves Out
EPT Group chief executive Jeff King issued a formal statement accompanying the acquisition announcement. The operative passage: "We are very proud to welcome the Hondata businesses to our group of leading enthusiast automotive companies and want to welcome all of Hondata's Team members and customers to the EPT Group." King added that EPT would "continue to focus on delivering market-leading products, technologies, compliant performance solutions and power packages, and unmatched customer support for Honda and Acura enthusiasts." The word "compliant" is worth pausing on. Honda has tightened its position on third-party ECU calibration tools in emissions-regulated markets, and California Air Resources Board certification is a live commercial issue for any tuning firm operating out of Torrance. King's statement did not address California exemption orders, OBD-II compliance status, or any planned product discontinuations. No financial terms were disclosed. Neither Stevens nor MacMillan issued a separate public statement at the time of the announcement.
The Quiet Close: Why May's Deal Took Weeks to Surface
The acquisition closed in May 2025. Public confirmation arrived in July 2025 — a gap of roughly eight weeks. No filing appeared on Hondata's website. No announcement went to the company's registered customer email list, according to multiple Honda forum users who reported learning of the deal through third-party channels. The first credible lead came from a press release posted inside a Facebook enthusiast group, which observers initially dismissed as unverified. That informal channel preceding the official one is unusual for a transaction involving a company with documented revenue and an established customer base across North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. EPT Group's own website does not list Hondata in its portfolio section as of the date of this article's publication — the page still references its broader acquisition history without naming individual brands. Honda's own North American product schedule is already under pressure through 2027, which makes aftermarket ecosystem stability a more acute concern for owners than it might otherwise be.
What the Deal Means for Honda and Acura Tuning Customers
For owners of Honda Civic Type R models, Acura Integra Type S variants, and earlier K-series platform vehicles, Hondata's SManager and Flashpro products are often the first and only tuning option with broad community support. Cobb Tuning's AccessPort — EPT's flagship tool for Subaru and Porsche platforms — retailed at approximately $650 USD as of mid-2025, placing it at the upper end of the standalone ECU calibration device market. If EPT applies comparable pricing discipline to Hondata's Flashpro, currently listed at $695 USD, customers may see little immediate change. The risk that concerns enthusiast communities is support continuity: private equity ownership has historically preceded product line rationalisation at smaller aftermarket firms, though EPT's public track record does not yet show that pattern. Stevens and MacMillan staying in post is the structural reassurance EPT is offering. Whether that holds through a second ownership transition — should EPT itself be acquired or restructured — is not addressed in the July 2025 press release. Separately, BMW's 1,300 hp four-motor M3 announcement illustrates how OEM performance ambitions are escalating, compressing the window in which aftermarket firms can credibly match factory outputs without homologation investment.
Hondata shipped its first ECU product in 2000, one year after the New Zealand founding, and the company's SManager software predates most current Honda platform architectures two decades. EPT Group has not confirmed whether it holds a right of first refusal on future Hondata intellectual property in the event of a group sale. No exit timeline has been disclosed. The complete Hondata model history and specifications are catalogued in the Global Auto Index manufacturer database.
