The company said before the start of stock trading that it lost $1.95 US a share in the quarter. In the same period a year ago, GM made $1.3 billion US, or $2.25 a share.
In addition to slack sales, the company blamed rising health-care costs and special charges. Those charges, which totalled $265 million US, came from restructuring in Europe, reductions in white collar staff in the U.S., and facility impairments.
GM's net revenue was $45.77 billion US, off from $47.83 billion US a year ago.
The company said its automotive operations reported a loss of $1.3 billion US in the first quarter of 2005, compared with earnings of $561 million US in the year-ago quarter.
GM North America accounted for this weak performance, reporting a loss of $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2005, compared with earnings of $401 million a year ago.
The company cited lower sales and production volumes, price competition, an unfavorable sales mix and a continuing, large health-care burden for the weak North American results.
GM's market share in North America was 25.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2005, down from 26.3 per cent in the year-ago period.
Shares of GM slipped a dime to close at $26.09 US on the NYSE.
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