Detroit, Apr 23 (AP) Despite a small dip in US vehicle sales, General Motors' first-quarter net income rose more than 25 per cent on strong deliveries of pickup trucks and other higher-profit vehicles.

The Detroit automaker said that while its average sales price per vehicle was down slightly from last year at just under USD 50,000, pickup sales remained strong, and it's not seeing the price erosion across its lineup that other companies have experienced.

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GM on Tuesday said it made USD 2.97 billion from January through March, with revenue increasing 7.6 per cent over the same period a year ago to just over USD 43 billion.

Excluding one-time items the company made USD 2.62 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of USD 2.13, according to FactSet.

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The better-than-forecast prices also allowed GM to raise its full year net income guidance slightly to a range of USD 10.1 billion to USD 11.5 billion, up from USD 9.8 billion to USD 11.2 billion. Adjusted 2024 earnings per share guidance rose to a range of USD 9 to USD 10 from USD 8.50 to USD 9.50.

Shares of the company jumped more than 5 per cent in premarket trading.

Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said prices dropped a little because GM sold a higher share of lower-cost vehicles such as the Chevrolet Trax small SUV, which starts at USD 21,495 including shipping.

“The portfolio as a whole has been pretty strong,” he said, noting that pickup truck sales were up 3 per cent in the US.

The company still has assumed that prices will drop 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent for the full year, but has not seen the decline yet, Jacobson said.

Retail sales of electric vehicles rose during the quarter, and GM is producing more of its own batteries, he said. The company is on track to hit a mid single-digit profit margin on EVs next year.

During the quarter, the company made USD 3.84 billion before taxes in North America, but lost USD 10 million in its international operations, including a USD 106 million loss in China.

The automaker's troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit lost USD 519 million pretax as it tries to recover from a serious crash and allegations of a cover-up in California. CEO Mary Barra said Cruise, which had suspended testing and robotaxi rides after losing its California license, returned to testing in Phoenix to update mapping and gather road information. (AP)

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