DETROIT, MI (AP)-- General Motors’ first-quarter net income surged to $2.98 billion as strong U.S. consumer demand and higher prices overcame production cuts brought on by the global shortage of computer chips.
The big profit increase was 12 times larger than the same period last year, when the start of the coronavirus pandemic forced automakers to shutter factories, limiting GM’s net income to $247 million. Despite the semiconductor shortage, GM stuck with full-year pretax earnings guidance of $10 billion to $11 billion issued earlier in the year.
It predicted earnings at the higher end of the range. The company predicts a strong first half with a pretax profit of around $5.5 billion.
