Day 1: Annual Update Meeting at 2024 AIMExpo Showcases Group’s Success, Outlines Future Vision

The National Powersports Dealers Association (NPDA) is pursuing an aggressive path to drive the powersports industry to greater success.

Since its founding less than three years ago, the NPDA has grown to more than 400 powersports dealer members from all 50 states plus Puerto Rico. The board of directors of 12 men and three women are Harley-Davidson and metric dealers from Alaska to Virginia, Ohio to Texas. 

The NPDA has a very active presence at the three-day AIMExpo in Las Vegas, where it is an exhibitor, is holding meetings for Harley-Davidson dealers, board members are being honored, and advisors and partners are serving as featured show speakers.

Tuesday’s second Annual Update Meeting by the NPDA featured association leadership, as well as representatives from many of the 24 partner companies that provide financial and intellectual support to the association.

During the meeting, the NPDA announced progress on two major initiatives:

• “Education Initiative”: an education strategy that will mesh programming and coursework from a variety of sources to create an Industry-leading platform;
• The “Powersports Industry Growth Initiative”: a multimedia effort that will include visual campaigns to help “mainstream” the industry on various platforms.

Along with updates on these two initiatives, the NPDA reviewed key wins in 2023:

• Membership growth of 40%
• A successful campaign urging original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to drop shipping surcharges imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and a push for a moratorium on facility upgrade mandates
• Numerous, well-attended webinars on key industry topics
• The hiring of industry veteran Tigra Tsujikawa as membership marketing manager; the team grew again last month when the NPDA hired well-known powersports journalist, marketing and training expert Dave McMahon as education director.

“The hard work of our directors, advisors and team is leading to real progress by our organization,” said Bob Althoff, NPDA chairman. “Together with our Partners, we are positioning the NPDA to best serve dealer members and help them become more profitable, while advancing the entire powersports industry for greater success.”

During AIMExpo evening activities on Tuesday, Althoff, along with NPDA Treasurer Kim Harrison, were honored by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) for their work on the MIC’s Dealer Advisory Council.

In addition to the headline-grabbing initiatives promoted at AIMExpo, the NPDA continues to work at improving membership offerings to dealers and increase connectivity between partners and members. A new Member Portal discussed during the Update Meeting will be the newest effort; this will be available before the end of the first quarter of 2024.

“We will continue to provide dealers with information and opportunities to run their businesses better,” said Bob Kee, vice chairman. “We have enjoyed favorable growth so far, and as we continue to add new members, our critical mass will allow us to make an even greater difference in the Industry.”

Day 2: Association Strengthens Outreach Efforts in Serving Harley-Davidson Dealer Members

The NPDA proved its value to Harley-Davidson dealer members by orchestrating a presentation at the AIMExpo by a high-ranking official of the Motor Company.

Luke Mansfield, new chief commercial officer of Harley-Davidson Inc., addressed a gathering of dozens of Harley-Davidson dealers who took part in two meetings coordinated by the NPDA as part of the powersports industry’s largest annual trade show.

“It was really exciting to be here at the invitation of the NPDA,” Mansfield said. “Any opportunity we get to spend time and share ideas with our dealers is time well spent. It benefits the whole community, and it’s something we all want more of.”

Mansfield, who has been with Harley-Davidson for a number of years, most recently as vice president, motorcycle management, presented a variety of topics to the Harley-Davidson Dealers from across the country in attendance. Many dealers noted their appreciation of the in-person conversational approach with Mansfield that the event offered.

“It was great to have face-to-face communication in an open forum,” said George Gatto, an NPDA board member and chairman of the group’s Harley-Davidson Dealer Council. “We both agreed that more communication between dealers and the Motor Company is going to beneficial for all. I’m optimistic after spending time with Luke at AIMExpo this week. We all appreciate him joining us.”

Since its founding less than three years ago, the NPDA has grown to include more than 200 Harley-Davidson dealers.

Along with committees focused on education and partnerships, the NPDA created the Harley-Davidson Dealer Council to concentrate on topics, issues and needs unique to Harley dealers.

“Dealers confront numerous, significant challenges in the course of running what I truly believe are the most complex businesses that exist,” said Althoff, also a veteran Harley-Davidson dealer in Ohio. “The NPDA is working hard to help dealers be their best and achieve success while furthering the growth of our industry.”

For more information about the NPDA, visit www.npda.org