General Motors (GM) on Thursday reported higher overall income in the second quarter of 2019, driven by strong pickup sales in North America.

Meanwhile, GM and its joint ventures' performance in another key auto market, China, remained unsatisfactory, despite the surge of Cadillac deliveries.

The leading US automaker earned 2.4 billion US dollars in Q2 this year, up 1.6 percent from the same period in 2018.

Its all-new light-duty trucks, crossovers and transformational cost savings led to a 10.7 percent margin in North America.

In the United States, its home market, GM delivered 747,000 vehicles, led by crossover sales which set a Q2 record with a 17-percent increase year on year.

GM's light-duty pickups gained almost 3 percentage points of retail share from Q1 to Q2, and remained the retail market share leader in the segment, according to its Q2 report.

Full production of all cab styles started in March, helping normalize availability of the entire lineup, said GM.

Facing fierce competition from Ford and Chrysler, the other two Detroit peers, GM launched all-new heavy-duty pickups in June.

With the previously announced 40,000 unit additional capacity at Flint Assembly, Michigan, GM said that it is poised for significant growth in this profitable segment.

"Our (Q2) results demonstrate the earnings power of our full-size truck franchise, with more upside to come," said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

"We will continue operating our business with discipline, and the vision needed to deliver a stronger future for our employees, customers and shareholders," she added.

In China, GM and its joint ventures sold 753,926 vehicles in Q2, about 100,000 fewer than the the same period in 2018.

However, GM said that its brands continued to progress and expand their presence in the world's biggest auto market even in a weak quarter, with the high-end brand Cadillac delivering 66,523 units, which achieved a 36.6 percent year-on-year rise.

Yet Buick and Chevrolet suffered sales fall over 10 percent in Q2, 2019.

GM China's low-end local brand Baojun delivered 135,793 unites, a 31.8 percent slide compared with Q2, 2018.

GM said it has been carrying out a "significant product changeover" in China, adding it's well prepared to transition to the new and stricter China 6 emission standard.

GM China has planed to introduce a record of some 20 new and refreshed models in China this year, all China 6 compliant. Around two-thirds are arriving in the second half, with a sharpened focus on luxury vehicles and midsize or large SUVs.

Despite all the efforts, considering the overall slowdown in China's auto sales and other ongoing headwinds, including the unsolved US-China trade frictions, GM expects equity income in the second half of the year to be generally in line with the first half.