GM U.S. sales up 46 percent as incentives catch

General Motors Co said on Tuesday that its U.S. sales for February rose 46 percent from a year earlier, as sales incentives including cheap lease deals and discounts for existing GM owners drove drew shoppers.

The sales increase was higher than analysts had projected. Excluding the now-scrapped Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn and Saab brands, GM's sales were up 49 percent.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)