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Powersports Business • October 2026 • 9

National Powersports Distributors has partnered with Ekho to deploy the company’ s AI Sales Agent across its pre-owned powersports dealership operation.

The New Hampshire-based dealer group, which sells used motorcycles and ATVs to customers nationwide, is using Ekho’ s platform to respond to customer inquiries around the clock, qualify leads and schedule appointments.

According to Ekho, leads coming through NPD’ s website, inbound text messages and third-party listings can be handled through a centralized workspace. The AI agent responds to customer questions, works to qualify prospective buyers and can schedule appointments on the appropriate dealership calendar while notifying sales staff.

Max Sanel, project manager at National Powersports Distributors, said the company has seen a significant improvement over its previous AI agent.

“ The team loves this thing already,” Sanel says.“ The responses are so far ahead of what our previous agent was doing, the integrations work, and we’ re super enthusiastic about what we’ re seeing.”

Ekho said NPD saw an after-hours customer interaction within days of launching the system in which the AI agent answered the buyer’ s questions and scheduled a call with a salesperson without requiring dealership staff to intervene.

The New Hampshire-based dealer group, which sells used motorcycles and ATVs to customers nationwide, is using Ekho’ s platform to respond to customer inquiries around the clock, qualify leads and schedule appointments.( Photo: Ekho)

“ National Powersports helped write the book on selling used powersports online, so they set a high bar for what a great buying experience feels like,” says Rowan Mockler, co-founder and CEO of Ekho.“ Seeing the agent book real appointments in their first week, with the team barely stepping in, is exactly why we built the AI Sales Agent.”

NPD plans to expand the system across its dealership operation and route its main phone line through the platform. The goal is to provide an immediate response to inbound leads regardless of the time of day or the customer’ s location.

TRADE WAR

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have to account for potential changes in product costs, availability and cross-border sourcing as negotiations between the two countries continue.

As of Sept. 8, there was no clear indication that the broader trade dispute was close to resolution. The

AP reported that U. S. and Canadian trade representatives remain in contact, although neither side appears eager to move quickly back to formal negotiations.

That leaves powersports dealers and consumers stuck in the middle heading into the fall selling season— particularly for dealers carrying higher-displacement motorcycles and products sourced across the U. S.- Canada border.

ECONOMY

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don’ t necessarily translate directly or immediately into purchasing behavior, but they are among the indicators the organization monitors as it tracks the market.

“ Consumers are signaling more caution about the months ahead, and that’ s something worth watching,” says Buckner Nesheim, MIC director of research and statistics.“ The important question for our industry is whether those concerns begin to show up in actual purchasing behavior. That’ s why we look at consumer attitudes alongside motorcycle sales and other market indicators rather than any one measure in isolation.”

MIC’ s latest retail data showed new motorcycle sales among leading brands were up 1.9 % through the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Replacement tire shipments among leading brands were also up 3.8 % through the first half of the year. Members can view the latest Retail Sales Report and Tire Sales Report in the Member Reports section of MIC. org.