The company reported a 0.6 per cent drop in its quarterly global sales to 2.25 million. General Motors said it expected global vehicle sales to rise by 4 per cent this year in spite of slumping demand for cars and trucks in the US, which hurt its quarterly sales figures. The forecast by the US group underscored the extent to which new car buyers in Russia, China, India and other emerging markets continue to prop up global carmakers' sales figures even as they plummet in rich countries more exposed to the US economic slowdown.