GENERAL Motors, fresh from selling off assets in Australia, Europe and South Africa, was the only major car-maker to report sliding income as most of its rivals rode a strong third-quarter wave driven by fresh products, low finance rates and share price strength.

Here’s how the big players are faring:

Ford: Third-quarter net profits rose higher than expected on strong sales of its high-margin trucks and SUVs in the US. Income hit $A2 billion for the quarter, up 63 per cent on a year earlier.

Ford is receiving higher profits from its base-load F-Series trucks in North America. The average F-Series truck in the US in September sold for $A3000 more than a year ago, now $A59,122. Demand is coming from the most expensive versions – Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum – in the Super Duty trucks, and for the Raptor performance version.

“The F-150 pick-up is a gift that keeps on giving,” said CEO James Hackett responding to an investor question in the US.

Lower costs incurred by Ford have also made a difference to the bottom line. During the quarter, it shaved $A912 million by reducing costs in engineering, marketing, advertising and recalls. In the same period in 2016, Ford saw a blow-out in warranty costs by $A781 million.

Mr Hackett announced that in the next five years, Ford would cut $A13 billion in material costs and $A5.2 billion in engineering expenses; move $A9 billion of capital costs from passenger cars to SUVs and trucks; expand partnerships such as its recent alliance with India’s Mahindra Group; and deliver 13 new electric vehicles.

In North America, Ford sold 650,000 vehicles – down five per cent on the same period in 2016 – and revenue fell $1.1 billion to $27 billion. Its North American operating margin was up sharply to 8.1 per cent, from 5.8 per cent a year ago, and pre-tax profit in North America was $A2.2 billion, accounting for virtually all of its total company pre-tax profit of $A2.2 billion. Ford Credit added $A781 million in pre-tax profit.

Ford, also in the third quarter, posted a pre-tax loss of $A112 million in Europe and a profit of $A376 million in the Asia Pacific region – more than double its 2016 figure. Ford said it was “especially happy” with its performance in Australia and India.

South America reported a loss of $A206 million and the Middle east and Africa recorded a loss of $A78 million.

Ford is forecasting 2017 profits will be lower than last year.

General Motors: Profits took a huge hit in the third quarter as GM was slugged by expenses related to the Opel-Vauxhall sale to PSA Group.

Further costs were incurred as GM closed plants in North America to reduce vehicle stockpiles, discounted passenger cars as consumers demanded SUVs and trucks, and closed manufacturing operations in Australia and South Africa.

It posted a $A3.9 billion quarterly loss and a 26 per cent drop in production. The loss was driven by a charge of $A7 billion on pension payments and deferred tax from the sale of Opel-Vauxhall, offset slightly by the sale.

GM delivered 781,056 total vehicles in the third quarter in the US, including a record 25 per cent rise in crossover-SUV vehicles. During the quarter it introduced five new or refreshed models in China, with six more planned for the fourth quarter including the Buick GL6, Excelle GT and Excelle GX, Wuling S3 and the Cadillac XT5.

China deliveries of 982,311 vehicles set a third-quarter record, up 12.3 per cent on 2016, while South America delivered 179,421 vehicles, up 17.6 per cent.

GM announced it will launch at least 20 electric vehicles by 2023, including two in the next 18 months.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: Higher sales of its profit-rich Jeep and Ram trucks lifted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ quarterly earnings before interest and tax by 17 per cent to $A2.7 billion.

It is now retooling some US factories to increase production of SUVs and trucks and plans to cease production of some unprofitable sedans.

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company was on track to become cash positive in 2018 and erase all debt and have $A7.6 billion in net cash by the end of the year.

FCA will, in early 2018, present a new strategy to take it out to 2022 that includes splitting off its components business, Magneti Marelli.

Marchionne’s turnaround plan also involves strengthening the sales of Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Maserati margins remained strong at 13.8 per cent due to demand for its first SUV, the Levante, while the same sales rise is being seen with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV and the new Giulia sedan.

Abarth versions of the Fiat 500 have made spectacular gains, despite the 10-year age of the donor car. European Abarth sales for the first eight months of the year are up 65 per cent on the same period in 2016 at 13,977 cars.

Volkswagen: Its earnings before interest and taxes are up 15 per cent in the third quarter to $A6.2 billion compared with $A5.7 billion in the same period of 2016. Operating profit, less emissions scandal costs, fell nearly 50 per cent $A2.6 billion.

The earnings increase is remarkable given that the emission scandal two years ago wiped an estimated $A36 billion off Volkswagen’s market capitalisation and that the actual cost to the company could be as high as $A42 billion.

Toyota: Japan’s financial year begins in April. The company’s last quarterly results, for its first quarter (April to June), showed that operating profit fell by 11 per cent to $A6.6 billion on rising incentives and foreign exchange losses. Revenue lifted seven per cent to $A80.9 billion.

Like Ford and GM, Toyota had problems selling its car-rich product mix in the US market that demands SUVs and trucks.

Global retail sales increased 2.4 per cent to 2.59 million vehicles in the April-June period, including results from its subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino.

Toyota’s first-quarter decline came as car-makers adjusted their passenger car-rich product mix to meet booming US demand for crossovers, SUVs and trucks.

Toyota was among those caught behind the curve. In the US, passenger cars made up just 37 per cent of the nation’s total vehicle sales in the first six months of the year.

But at Toyota in the US, including the Toyota and Lexus brands, cars accounted for 44 per cent of the mix.

Volvo: The car-maker, owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China, has reported a huge profit rise of $A1.63 billion, up 36.4 per cent, for the third quarter.

Global third-quarter retail sales are up 10.6 per cent to 135,831 cars. For the first nine months, or the total three quarters, sales have increased nine per cent compared with the same period in 2016 with 413,472 cars sold.

The first nine months net revenue was $A23.3 billion, up 18.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2016 and net income was $A1.1 billion, an increase of 42.1 per cent.

Tesla: A shock $A806.8 million loss posted today was the company’s biggest ever and came after a $A28.5 million profit in the third quarter of 2016. But revenue from its cars and battery units rose 30 per cent to $A3.88 billion.

It immediately caused its shares to drop 3.15 per cent, taking off $A13.60 per share now down to $A418.24 a share. The huge loss was blamed on production bottlenecks caused by the battery factory in Nevada. Production of its Model 3 was slowed with 260 built in October, well below its 1500 target. It expects to reach 5000 a week by the end of the first quarter of 2018. CEO Elon Musk said the Model 3 was “deep in production hell”.

Model 3 production delays mean postponed sales could aggravate the expenses of the company – estimated at $A1.3 billion for the next quarter – and worry the 500,000-plus customers who have put down a refundable deposit on the car. It produced 26,150 cars – Model S, X and 3 – in the third quarter, up 4.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2016.

Tesla shares have fallen about 17 per cent this year from a high of $A501.50 but are still up 50 per cent on January because investors have a strong belief in the company’s long-term prospects. The share price has made Tesla the second-most valuable US automotive stock behind General Motors.

By Neil Dowling