New General Motors CEO Mary Barra will get a pay package worth $US14.4 million ($A16.13 million) this year, 58 per cent more than her predecessor.

GM released the figure on Monday to counter reports that said Barra, the first woman to lead a major automaker, would be paid less than former Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson.

Those reports calculated Barra’s compensation without including her long-term stock compensation, and the company was criticised for paying a woman leader less than a man.

Barra will get $US1.6 million ($A1.79 million) in salary, $US2.8 million ($A3.14 million) in short-term incentives and long-term stock compensation worth $US10 million ($A11.20 million), the company said in a statement.

The long-term amount is part of a new incentive plan that still has to be voted on by shareholders in June.

Akerson received roughly $US9.1 million ($A10.19 million) for 2013, the same package he received in 2012, GM spokesman Greg Martin said.

His base salary was $US100,000 ($A112,013.44) more than Barra will get, but she likely will earn far more in stock-based compensation.

Chairman Tim Solso said in a statement that Barra’s package is weighted so that most of it is “at risk,” or based on the company’s long-term performance.

GM said it normally releases the figures in late April with its annual proxy statement, but unveiled them early “to correct misperceptions created by comparisons that used only a portion of Barra’s overall compensation.”

Akerson’s compensation paled in comparison to others in the industry because of pay limits placed on the company by the government, part of the $US49.5 billion ($A55.45 billion) bailout GM got in 2009.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally earned $US20.95 million ($A23.47 million) in 2012, including a $US2 million ($A2.24 million) salary.

Those limitations were lifted in December after the government sold the remaining GM shares it received as part of the bailout.