GM Reports a Strong July

General Motors said sales picked up 7.8% in July from a year ago, with strong volume coming from its GMC pickup trucks and Chevrolet Cruze sedans.

Total sales hit 214,915 vehicles for the month, with the GMC brand soaring 36% to 37,918 vehicles.

Chevrolet sales climbed 6.5% to 149,005 vehicles, GM said.

Buick sales were nearly flat, gaining only 0.4% to 16,783 vehicles, while Cadillac sales slumped 25% to 11,119 vehicles.

"Sales of our fuel-efficient cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and our crossovers remain strong, and we're now also seeing the seasonal lift in full-size pickups that we expected," Don Johnson, GM's vice president for U.S. sales, said in a news release.

GM said it sold 24,658 units of its Chevrolet Cruze in July, the fourth straight month in which Cruze sales have exceeded 20,000.

Some 19% of Cruze retail sales were purchases of its fuel-efficient Cruze Eco model, the company said.

GM has returned to profitability since emerging from government-sponsored bankruptcy reorganization in 2009.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011