On Wednesday, General Motors received its first installment of low-interest loans from the federal government - $4 billion out of the expected $9.4 billion through January. The automaker would be receiving another $4 billion loan in February. The loan amount will be used for funding the company's continuing operations.

Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC, which is also in line for federal aid, has not received any amount yet, due to its slow application process, and the ongoing negotiations about its package. The company also expects $4 billion to pay its workers and parts suppliers as early as possible.

The loans for the two automakers are a part of $17.4 billion in financing undertaken by the Treasury to help the companies ward off a likely bankruptcy, owing to slowing sales, amid recession. The most recently released Treasury rules have opened the door for provision of funds to any company, which it considers important to auto manufacturing or financing car purchases.

In its statement, GM said: "We appreciate the administration extending a financial bridge to GM at this critical time for the US auto industry. We are committed to successfully executing the viability plan we submitted on December 2 and remain confident in the future."

GM has announced financing discounts - including no-interest loans up to a period of five years, on some of its 2008 and 2009 models. The move is aimed at sparking sales after the government bailout of GMAC, which has facilitated the company's offer of loans to prospective consumers.