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GM earnings rise 1% as buyers pay more for popular pickups

DETROIT — General Motors said Thursday that higher prices for popular pickup trucks and SUVs helped overcome slowing global sales and profit rose by 1% in the second quarter. The Detroit automaker said it made $2.42 billion, or $1.66 per share, from April through June. Adjusting for restructuring costs, GM made $1.64 per share, blowing by analyst estimates of $1.44. Quarterly revenue fell 2% to $36.06 billion, but still beat estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $35.97 billion. Global sales fell 6% to 1.94 million vehicles led by declines in North America and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The company says sales in China were weak, and it expects that to continue through the year. In the United States, customers paid an average of $41,461 for a GM vehicle during the quarter, an increase of 2.2%, as buyers went for loaded-out pickups and SUVs, according to the Edmunds.com auto pricing site. The U.S. is GM's most profitable market. Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said she expects the strong pricing to continue, especially as GM rolls out a diesel pickup and new heavy-duty trucks in the second half of the year. "We think the fundamentals do remain strong, especially in the truck market," she said, adding that strength in the overall economy and aging trucks now on the road should help keep the trend going. Light trucks accounted for 83.1% of GM's sales in the quarter, and pickup truck sales rose 8.5% as GM transitioned to new models of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, according to Edmunds, which provides content to The Associated Press. As usual, GM made most of its money in North America, reporting $3 billion in pretax earnings. International operations including China broke even, while the company spent $300 million on its GM Cruise automated vehicle unit. Its financial arm made $500 million in pretax income. Suryadevara said GM saw $700 million in savings during the quarter from restructuring actions announced late last year that included cutting about 8,000 white-collar workers through layoffs, buyouts and early retirements. The company also announced plans to close five North American factories, shedding another 6,000 jobs. About 3,000 factory workers in the U.S. whose jobs were eliminated at four plants will be placed at other factories, but they could have to relocate. GM expects the restructuring to generate $2 billion to $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by the end of this year.

Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

2022 GMC Hummer EV could get a rival from China's Dongfeng

The popularity of GMC's Hummer EV hasn't gone unnoticed in China. State-owned carmaker Dongfeng is reportedly planning to launch an electric version of the M50 Warrior, a Hummer-like off-roader, that will inaugurate a new sub-brand dedicated to battery-powered trucks. Without citing sources, website Car News China wrote that the division will be called M, a letter that stands for something completely different if the cars that you're into come from Munich. Executives are initially planning three models called M18-1, M18-2, and M18-3, respectively. The M18-1 will reach the market first, and it's described as an electrified M50 Warrior (pictured) with seating for six. Dongfeng will build the M18-1 on a new architecture called MORV that was developed in-house. The powertrain will develop up to 1,072 horsepower, which is 72 horses more than the most powerful version of the Hummer EV, yet the zero-to-60-mph time will check in at under 5 seconds, which is roughly 2 seconds more than the GMC. It will offer around 310 miles of range thanks to a 140-kilowatt-hour battery. Another interesting point is that the M18-1 will supposedly be much lighter than the Hummer EV — it will even weigh less than the gasoline-powered M50 Warrior that it's based on. It will tip the scale at around 6,900 pounds and stretch about 205 inches long, compared to 9,046 pounds and 217 inches for the Hummer. Of course, these numbers are purely hypothetical until the truck starts rolling off the assembly line. Speaking of, production is tentatively scheduled to start in 2023 in a factory that's currently being built in China. Dongfeng expects to sell approximately 4,160 units per month, though nothing suggests that the M18-1 will venture onto the GMC Hummer EV's home turf. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green GMC SUV Electric Off-Road Vehicles