GM said in May it would recall 1.9 million vehicles for Takata Corp. air bag inflators that may not work properly. In June it expanded that recall to another 600,000 vehicles after a review of ownership data.

GM said in a securities filing that the costs of replacing Takata air bag inflators in the 4.3 million additional vehicles would be $550 million, while replacing inflators in the 2.5 million vehicles recalled to date will cost as much as $320 million.

GM said it does not believe there is a safety defect in any of the 6.8 million vehicles, but agreed to the initial recall after talks with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In May, the NHTSA said 17 automakers will be required to recall another 35 million to 40 million U.S. air bag inflators assembled by Takata. Previously, 14 automakers had recalled 24 million vehicles with 28.8 million inflators linked to at least 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

GM said it believes that "the results of further testing and analysis will demonstrate that the vehicles do not present an unreasonable risk to safety and that no repair will ultimately be required."

GM has not begun making repairs on the initial 2.5 million vehicles recalled, and has not yet accounted for the costs of the recall.

GM said its Takata inflators have a unique design that does not pose a safety risk. The company said data showed no cases of an airbag rupturing among 44,000 deployments in large GM pickups and SUVs that contain Takata inflators.

Takata inflators used in GM trucks and large SUVs are designed with different venting for hot gases released when the airbag deploys, and they are installed in the vehicle in a way that minimizes exposure to moisture, GM said.

GM's stance is at odds with the position of regulators that all frontal Takata airbag inflators without a drying agent must be recalled.

Upward of 100 million vehicles worldwide with Takata airbag inflators have been declared defective and are linked to 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Inflators can explode with too much force and spray metal shrapnel into vehicle passenger compartments.

The NHTSA is staggering recalls over time and directing replacement inflators first to states with extended high heat and humidity, linked to inflator failures.



In other GM news:

- GM raised its forecast for full-year profits after reporting a record second-quarter profit as it continued to capitalize on strong sales of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in the United States.

The earnings handily beat Wall Street expectations, sending shares up as much as 4.4 percent.

The world's third-largest automaker said it expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $5.50 to $6.00 per share for 2016, up from a previous expectation of $5.25 to $5.75 per share.

Second-quarter net income rose to $2.87 billion, or $1.81 a share, from $1.1 billion, or 67 cents a share, a year ago. Factoring out a $100 million charge for legal costs, GM earned $1.86 a share in the latest quarter, well ahead of the $1.52 consensus forecast among analysts.

More than 90 percent of the company's pretax profits came from North America, where profit margins rose to 12.1 percent from 10.5 percent a year before, driven by demand for pickup trucks and large sport utility vehicles.

GM also reported its first quarterly profit in Europe in five years, but warned that currency and market disruptions caused by Britain's decision to quit the European Union could force the automaker to slash up to $400 million in costs from second-half results in Europe.

GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said "everything is on the table" as the company looks for ways to offset Brexit-related costs. He said the company has not given up on its goal of breaking even in Europe for the year, and described Brexit as "a speed bump along the way."

GM has four pickup truck and one large-SUV plant in North America, all running around the clock producing at more than 100 percent of planned capacity, a spokesman said. The rate is higher than the company's sedan plants, some of which have been down to prepare for new products.

GM disclosed for the first time that it paid $580 million in cash and stock to acquire Cruise Automation, the self-driving car startup, earlier this year. Stevens said the ultimate cost of the deal could rise based on the performance of the operation and payments to employees.

GM's strong performance in North America helped generate $3.2 billion in free cash flow for the second quarter. Stevens said GM expects $6 billion in free cash flow for the year.

The automaker has said it will buy back up to $9 billion in shares through 2017. Stevens said the company could review the plan if cash flow exceeds expectations.

GM's operations in the Middle East and Asia outside of China continued to be a drag on results. The company reported a $300 million loss in its consolidated international operations, wider than the year-ago $100 million loss.

Stevens said GM is reviewing its investment plans for the region, including planned investments in India.

GM stock rose as high as $32.87 before easing to $32.60, up $1.11 in Thursday morning trading.

- GM said it was considering cost cuts in Europe to offset up to $400 million of potential headwinds triggered by Britain's Brexit vote, calling into question the carmaker's ability to return Opel and Vauxhall to a full-year profit.

The carmaker has pledged to make its European operations profitable by 2016 but GM warned the vote to leave the EU had weakened the pound, impacting Opel's business.

"We are facing strong headwinds at the moment, particularly in our largest market - the United Kingdom. The Brexit decision is not a good omen. Therefore the second half of this year is going to be anything but easy," Opel Chief Executive Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a video posted on his Twitter account.

GM Europe has not been profitable on a full-year basis since 1999. In the second quarter, GM Europe reported adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes of $0.1 billon, its first profitable quarter since 2011.

GM stuck to its full-year goal, but Evercore analyst George Galliers said it is now "in the balance," adding that GM has some scope to compensate for unfavorable currency swings by raising prices in Britain.

GM described Brexit as "a speed bump" and GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said for Europe "everything is on the table" in terms of options to mitigate additional costs brought on by Britain's decision.

"The result of the vote has adversely impacted the British pound, and the uncertainty has put a strain on the UK auto industry. If current post-referendum market conditions are sustained throughout the remainder of 2016, we believe it could have an impact of up to $400 million to the second half of 2016," Stevens said on Thursday.

Stevens said the company would now look at "any avenue" to mitigate adverse effects, whether this be cuts, changing the model mix or even changing car manufacturing locations.

"Very early days, I would suggest everything is on the table as we see how this plays out," Stevens said.

GM's pan-European supply chain has been impacted by the deterioration of the British pound against the euro.

Forecasters at LMC Automotive in a report last week said GM was the most likely automaker to cease production in Britain if costs rise at its plants in England.

LMC said the shuttering of the Ellesmere Port plant would likely happen in 2021 when the new version of the Vauxhall Astra is planned. The Astra has been built there for 37 years.

The Astra, and the Opel Sports Tourer, both built at Ellesmere Port, source their engines from factories in continental Europe. The weaker pound against the euro has made imports of components from continental Europe more expensive.

GM also has a factory in Luton, England where the Vivaro van is made. It also has factories in Zaragoza in Spain, Ruesselsheim and Eisenach in Germany, and Gliwice in Poland.

By contrast, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche on Thursday said the maker of luxury cars and trucks did not expect Britain's decision to leave the European Union to have any impact on demand.