General Motors Co. (GM) reported on Tuesday that it sold 693,363 vehicles in the United States in the first quarter of this year, up 17 percent year on year.

GM reported double-digit increases across all its four brands: Buick sales were up 39 percent; Cadillac increased by 18 percent; Chevrolet grew 14 percent and GMC was up 18 percent.

"GM's sales growth outpaced every other major automaker, and the driving force is our portfolio," said Rory Harvey, GM executive VP and president of global markets. "We're the industry leader in trucks and affordable small SUVs."

GM's sales of all electric cars increased 94 percent to 31,887 in the first quarter, making it the second-largest seller of electric vehicles in the United States, just behind Tesla.

GM's inventory at the end of the first quarter was 549,312 vehicles, down 8 percent from the prior quarter; and average transaction price was about 51,000 U.S. dollars, up less than 3 percent year on year.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government's 25-percent tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts, which are going into effect on April 3, will be less than positive on 2025 vehicles sales, the Detroit Free Press reported on Tuesday, quoting market analysts. It will cause new car as well as used car prices to rise.