Now almost four months after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Edmunds.com wanted to see the difference between new-vehicle inventory levels now and shortly after the March disaster that disrupted production industry-wide.

What site analysts found might surprise franchise dealers.

Using a statistically representative sample of U.S. inventory, Edmunds.com discovered, as expected, that dealer inventories for Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota have suffered the most.  The site determined Honda inventories fell 44.3 percent from March 31 to June 20, and Toyota inventories were down 40.5 percent.

However, what franchise dealers might not have realized is that South Korean automakers have suffered the largest drop in inventory of any single region of origin since the March earthquake.

Analysts calculated South Korean OEM inventories are off by 35.6 percent, while the Japanese fall-off by comparison is 32.8 percent.

Conversely, the site determined American company inventories increased 5.7 percent.

Spurring the drop from South Korea was the declines by Kia (down 39.9 percent) and Hyundai (down 32.3 percent). Edmunds.com believes these two nameplates have been hit hard by inventory depletion because of strong consumer demand due in part to real and perceived lack of availability of Japanese cars.

The site projected Hyundai and Kia will see combined sales up more than 4 percent from May to June, and up 34 percent from last June for a record 10.2 percent market share — 5.9 percent for Hyundai and 4.3 percent from Kia.   

Overall, Edmunds.com insisted automotive inventory in the U.S. fell 11.1 percent from March 31 through June 20.

“Industry inventory levels should have been increasing through the spring to accommodate for higher daily selling rates traditionally experienced in May, June and July,” explained Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com.

“Unfortunately, the March earthquake sparked a reverse trend for most automakers with Honda and Toyota being the hardest hit, and Korean inventories taking a similar slide, largely because they enjoyed record sales,” Caldwell continued.

Beyond an inventory analysis by nameplate, Edmunds.com delved into which vehicle segment has seen its stock level sink the most.

“Small car inventories have suffered the most since the Japan quakes, but it may be surprising to see just how much they are down,” the site declared.

Analysts found subcompact car inventories are down 50 percent since the end of March, and compact car inventories are down about one-third.

On the other hand, Edmunds.com said SUVs, trucks and large cars all have higher inventories now than in March.

Here are the specific figures of vehicle segment inventory levels on June 20 versus March 31:

—Large SUV: up 22 percent
—Large crossover: up 18 percent
—Large truck: up 14 percent
—Premium luxury SUV: up 11 percent
—Large car: up 9 percent
—Van: up 7 percent
—Premium luxury Car: up 6 percent
—Midsize SUV: up 4 percent
—Midsize luxury SUV: down 3 percent
—Midsize crossover: down 6 percent
—Compact truck: down 8 percent
—Industry overall: down 11 percent
—Entry luxury car: down 11 percent
—Entry luxury SUV: down 11 percent
—Midrange sports car: down 12 percent
—Midrange luxury car: down 15 percent
—Minivan: down 15 percent
—Midsize car: down 23 percent
—Compact crossover: down 23 percent
—Entry sports car: down 25 percent
—Premium sports car: down 26 percent
—Compact car: down 33 percent
—Subcompact car: down 50 percent

“With gas prices decreasing in the last seven weeks, consumer shopping habits are beginning to change with less emphasis on subcompact, compact and midsize cars,” noted Edmunds.com analyst Ivan Drury.

“Lower gas prices — combined with the recovery from the earthquake — mean that small-car inventories will finally have a chance to rebuild and consumers will have more choice without compromising,” Drury concluded.