Detroit - Troubled US car giant General Motors (GM) reported a massive second-quarter loss Friday on the back of weak demand in the US car market.

GM lost 15.5 billion dollars, the company said Friday from its headquarters in Detroit. The loss was worse than had been anticipated.

In the same period last year the company made a profit of 891 million dollars.

Revenue in the second quarter was 38.2 billion dollars, a decline of 18 per cent.

GM and its US competitors Ford and Chrysler have been hit by a fall-off in the sales of sports utility vehicles due to high petrol prices and are now trying to switch production to smaller, more economical cars. (dpa)