General Motors reports $3.9b loss in 2017

CHICAGO - General Motors (GM) suffered a net income loss of $3.864 billion in 2017, due largely to new tax regulations and discontinued operations, the US automaker said on Tuesday.

GM reported that the results were driven primarily by a 7.3 billion non-cash charge related to the remeasurement of deferred tax assets due to US tax reform, and a largely non-cash charge of $6.2 billion resulting from the sale of its long-languishing European division.

GM, which is based in Detroit, completed last year the sale of Germany-based Opel and United Kingdom-based Vauxhall brands, trying to exit markets where it didn't make money.

"The actions we took to further strengthen our core business and advance our vision for personal mobility made 2017 a transformative year," said GM Chairperson and CEO, Mary Barra.

"We will continue executing our plan and reshaping our company to position it for long-term success," she added.

Last year, GM sold 8.9 million vehicles globally, an increase of 0.8 percent from 2016, and grew market share in each of its three key markets, the United States, China and South America.

GM and its joint ventures sold 4 million vehicles in China for the first time. The record sales were anchored by Baojun and Buick, along with Cadillac, which posted a sales increase of 51 percent.

"We plan to build on this momentum in 2018 and beyond as we focus on growth opportunities across many parts of our business," said Chuck Stevens, GM's executive vice president and CFO.