NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - General Motors Corp. will offer antilock brakes or side-impact air bags only as an option rather than as standard equipment in many of its lower-priced 2003 models.

GM spokesman Jay Cooney said that while the equipment still will be standard on some of GM's higher-priced cars, such as Cadillacs and Saabs, the two features will become an option on many other models, including most Chevrolet and Pontiac vehicles.

"We're not taking these safety options away, just competitively pricing them," he told CNNfn.

Cooney confirmed the move is part of a cost-cutting effort. GM (GM: down $0.26 to $61.62, Research, Estimates) is seeking to cut material costs, expecting those savings to produce the equivalent of $5 per GM share by 2005, or about half the company's $10 a share profit target for that year. But the company is also facing downward pressure on pricing that has been reducing profits.

A drawing of a side-impact airbag.

Cooney said dealers were informed of the moves last fall. Among other changes designed to cut costs are removing embroidery from floor mats, removing the extra visor extender and making cargo nets optional.

USA Today reported Wednesday that GM could save more than $100 million a year on antilock brakes and side air bags. The antilock brakes cost the automaker about $160, while side air bags average more than $100, the paper said. It said automakers tend to mark up the cost of options to consumers 200 to 300 percent. Cooney did not give any price range for the options on the 2003 models.

Antilock brakes, designed to stop a vehicle from going into a skid when a driver slams on the brakes, are standard on 90 percent of GM's 58 vehicle models, according to the Wall Street Journal, while side-impact air bags are standard on 53 percent. They are separate from the standard front-impact air bags that are mounted in the steering wheel or instrument panel.

Auto safety advocates criticized the move, saying it will make the equipment less available to many car buyers, especially the majority of consumers, who don't special-order their cars.

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"Safety should not be a luxury that only comes standard on high-end models," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance-industry funded group. "If side airbags aren't included in a popular option package, most people won't get them."

Rader said the side-impact air bag is a relatively new technology that can significantly reduce deaths and injuries. He said about 10,000 people a year are killed in side-impact accidents.

The Journal says that at Chrysler Group, the North American division of DaimlerChrysler (DCX: down $0.01 to $44.30, Research, Estimates), antilock brake systems are standard on six of 19 models, and when offered as an option they cost customers between $595 and $840. Chrysler offers side-impact air bags only as an option on 75 percent of vehicle models at between $390 and $490, and they are available on only 75 percent of vehicles. The Journal also quotes a Ford Motor Co. (F: up $0.44 to $15.34, Research, Estimates) spokesperson as saying the No. 2 automaker is not planning on any changes in its offering of the side-impact air bags or antilock brakes.