DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co.’s new CEO, Mary Barra, says she will largely keep in place the plans of her predecessor, from a restructuring in Europe to a focus on improving profit margins. But she hopes to accelerate that progress.

Barra held a 50-minute session a small group of reporters Thursday, her first interview becoming CEO on Jan. 15. Barra, 52, joked that the quiet conference room at GM’s Detroit headquarters was a better place to talk than last week’s Detroit auto show, where she was mobbed by hundreds of reporters.