The world's biggest car maker, General Motors, said profits more than doubled in the April to July period, compared with a year ago.

GM said it owed the gains to "improved retail sales performance, increased production in North America, and a continued focus on cost reduction".

As well as cutting jobs and manufacturing costs, GM joined US auto makers in slashing prices aggressively to keep sales strong after the 11 September attacks last year.

However, GM said it would miss its target for cost cuts intended to restore its European business to profitability.

Market share

The Detroit-based auto net giant's profits jumped to $1.3bn (�800m), up from $477m in the same three months of last year.

The Buick Century, GM's bread and butter

Sales were worth $46.0bn, compared with $44.2bn a year earlier.

GM's saw its overall share of the US market in cars and trucks creep up to 28.1% compared to 27.3% in the year-ago period.

But it was the only US vehicle-maker to report a rise in sales in June, with trade up 4.3% on May's figure.

Off track in Europe

GM is in the midst of restructuring its European operations, centred on its Adam Opel subsidiary, where it is trimming 2,500 jobs, most of them in Germany and Belgium.

Its aim is to restore the European business to profitability within two years.

But GM chief financial officer John Devine said the firm would not meet its goal of shaving losses in Europe to about $350m this year.

"We're going to miss that now," he said, blaming weak sales in Europe.

TV unit's impact

GM said its net profits would have been $1.5bn were it not for one-off costs at its Hughes Electronics division, whose prize asset is DirecTV, the biggest US satellite broadcaster.

GM is selling DirecTV to Echostar Communications after a bitter tussle between rival bidders, which media mogul Rupert Murdoch lost.