General Motors (GM) has reported a declining net revenue but rising income for the first quarter of 2019, thanks to pricey pickups, SUVs and cost saving measures.

In the Q1 earnings report released on Tuesday, the U.S. automaker announced an income of 2.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 93.2 percent year over year, despite a declining revenue of 34.9 billion dollars, down 3.4 percent from Q1 2018.

GM delivered more than 665,000 vehicles in Q1 in the United States, down 6.3 percent year on year. However, with a selling mix of trucks, SUVs and crossovers above 80 percent, GM earned the highest average transaction prices for any first quarter in the company's history, with its all-new full-size crew cab pickup trucks up 5,800 dollars in average over the outgoing models.

GM and its joint ventures in China delivered nearly 814,000 vehicles in China in Q1 2019, down 17.45 percent from the same period of 2018.

Under the pressure of overall auto sales slowdown in China, GM has planned a major model changeover in China this year in a bid to revitalize its performance in the world's biggest auto market.

In Q1, Chevrolet brand launched the Monza and revealed the first model from the company's new global family of vehicles, the Onix, in China.

At Auto Shanghai 2019, GM launched the Chevrolet Tracker and Trailblazer SUVs, Buick Encore and Encore GX SUVs, and Cadillac XT6 SUV.

GM said the execution of company's transformation cost savings of 2 to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars through 2019 remains on track.

As part of the restructuring, GM is ceasing production of slow-selling sedans at five North American plants, cutting some 15 percent of its salaried work force.

"GM's first-quarter operating results were in line with expectations we shared in January," said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

"My confidence in the year ahead remains strong, driven by our all-new full-size truck launch and our ongoing business transformation," she added.

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