DETROIT - GENERAL Motors Corp on Tuesday asked the US government to save it from failure by extending $12 billion (S$18.3 billion) in loans and another $6 billion in credit as part of an unprecedented federal intervention into the struggling auto industry.

GM said it needs Congress to extend $4 billion in financing this month and provide the rest of the $12 billion by March.

The remaining $6 billion would be available if a year-long recession in U.S. auto sales drops beyond GM's now-lowered expectations Without the immediate $4 billion cash infusion, the top US automaker faces the risk of failure, a senior executive said.

'The first $4 billion is crucial,' GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said, adding, 'There is no Plan B.' -- THOMSON REUTERS