Net income at General Motors (GM) slipped 14 per cent in the first quarter to 865 million dollars, but figures issued Thursday by the US-based car group showed signs of recovery in its troubled European operations.
GM's North American operations yielded less income than a year
earlier, and Latin American operations slipped into the red.
"We saw progress in Europe thanks to strong cost actions and great
vehicles like the Opel Adam and Mokka," said chief executive Dan
Akerson in a statement from Detroit. The Adam is a mini car and the
Mokka a so-called crossover model.
GM's European operations, which sell cars under the Opel and
Vauxhall brands, lost 175 million dollars in the quarter, but that
was significantly lower than last year's losses of 294 million
dollars, when write-offs hit the accounts hard.
All major car manufacturers are suffering from poor sales in
Europe due to the eurozone crisis and flagging economic growth.
GM's European work force was cut in the space of a year from
37,000 to 36,000. Sales of Opel and Vauxhall cars slumped from
266,000 a year ago to 249,000.
Global net revenue in the first quarter was 36.9 billion dollars,
down 2 per cent.
