General Motors has suffered an 88% fall in year-on-year profits in the first quarter of 2001.

At $225m, the company's profits for the first three months of the year were 88% lower than during the same period last year ($1.78 billion).

2000 proved to be the worst year in Opel's 100 year history, and the first quarter of 2001 has been even worse.

However, analysts had expected profits to have fallen even further.