General Motors Co. surpassed Ford Motor Co. in federal-government sales for the first time since receiving its financial rescue from the U.S. government, Bloomberg News reported.

According to data from the General Services Administration, GM sold 19,404 vehicles to the U.S. government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, a 3.6 % increase from 2011, according to data obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request to the GSA, which coordinates most vehicle purchases. Sales at Ford, which didn’t need a U.S. bailout, fell 43% to 10,734, Bloomberg said.

Ford was the top seller in the two fiscal years after GM and Chrysler got their 2009 rescues. Before fiscal 2010, GM had held the sales lead since at least 2005. Total government-fleet sales were 3% of GM’s business last year, Kurt McNeil, vice president for U.S. sales and service, said in January.

The GSA paid an average of $26,103 per vehicle, Bloomberg said. In September 2012, the average sticker price for a retail model was $33,066, Edmunds.com said.