ALEXANDRIA, Va. -

The production fallout from the Japanese earthquake kept import automakers’ June new-vehicle sales static on a year-over-year basis, but these brands were able to improve double digits from May, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association.

What’s more, AIADA suggested that typical levels for production and sales for import brands should soon be upon us.

“International nameplate dealers expect production and sales to return to normal levels very soon,” stated AIADA President Cody Lusk.

“Many consumers are postponing purchases, waiting for the specific vehicle they want to become available,” Lusk added.

For June, import automakers moved 525,907 units, relatively unchanged from the 525,845 sold a year ago. Compared to May, however, import brands realized a 10-percent sales increase.

While Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda each saw 21-percent year-over-year decreases and Subaru fell 8.4 percent, other import brands gained significant ground.

Kia’s sales climbed 41 percent from June 2010, for example, and Volkswagen improved 35 percent.

As far as market share, Asian brands fell from 40.5 percent in May to 39.9 percent in June, while European brands were up slightly from 9.9 percent to 10 percent.

Meanwhile, domestics took 50.1 percent market share. The last time the Big 3 had greater than 50 percent market share was September 2008, according to AIADA.

Looking at individual vehicles, domestics dominated the list of top 10 retail sales in the U.S., grabbing eight of the spots, including the first six.

The Toyota Camry/Solara (at No. 6) and the Hyundai Elantra (No. 10) were the only imports in the 10 highest-selling vehicles.

“The residual effects of supply shortages continued to impact the availability of many popular international vehicle models,” AIADA explained.

To better illustrate how import brands fared during June, AIADA provided the following data: