GM had a strong second quarter in the US and China as crossovers and Cadillac surged

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

GM HQ in Detroit.

For General Motors in the second quarter, it was all about crossovers, Cadillacs, and China.

On Tuesday, GM reported a lower quarterly net profit from continuing operations due to lower vehicle sales and restructuring charges, but results beat Wall Street expectations.

The automaker reported second-quarter net income of $2.4 billion or $1.60 per share, down from $2.8 billion or $1.74 per share a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, the company reported earnings per share of $1.89. Analysts had on average expected earnings per share for the quarter of $1.69.

"Disciplined and relentless focus on improving our business performance led to a strong quarter and very solid first half of the year," CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "We will continue transforming GM to capitalize on growth opportunities and deliver even more value for our shareholders," she added.

Again, the US market provided ample support for GM's results. But China also helped out.

Markets Insider

"In the second quarter, GM delivered 725,000 total vehicles in the United States, driven by a 24-percent increase in retail crossover sales. The Q2 crossover results are the best in GM history," the carmaker said.

GM also continued its strategy of focusing in profitable retail sales, rather than maintaining sales volumes with the fleet business.

According to the company, "rental sales were 6 percent of total vehicle sales in Q2, the lowest of any full-line automaker."

In China, GM cited "strong sales" of its luxury brand, Cadillac, as a positive.

The carmaker said that it delivered 852,000, "a second-quarter record, up 1.6 percent compared the same quarter last year." GM was trading down slightly in pre-market action on Tuesday, to $35.