Despite a rough year for the automaker, General Motors' sales were strong enough to boost its third-quarter earnings by 98 percent compared with the same period last year. Solid sales in North American and Chinese markets put GM's quarterly profit at $1.38 billion, the Detroit News reported.

"Strong global sales and growing margins in North America and China helped GM deliver very solid third-quarter results," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "Despite industry challenges in Russia and South America, our earnings were on plan as we continue to execute our customer-focused strategy."

GM reported earnings of $2.45 billion before interest and taxes in North America, while earnings per share totaled 81 cents. For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $39.3 billion, a slight increase compared with $39 billion earned in the same period last year.

According to GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens, an increase of about 60,000 in sales for the quarter helped to boost earnings in North America.

"New trucks and SUVs are more profitable than the ones they replaced," Stevens told the Detroit News and other media from company headquarters in Detroit. "That certainly helps from a profit perspective."

The American automaker took charges totaling $2.5 billion in the first half of 2014 to cover recalls, a figure that included $400 million allocated as reparation to those injured or the families of those killed in GM vehicles.

Earlier this year, GM recalled nearly 2.6 million small cars for ignition switch problems that resulted in at least 29 deaths and 21 injuries. After recalling models such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, GM went on to make more repair announcements, recalling around 40 million vehicles altogether.

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