Ford Europe and PAG’s combined pre-tax profits rose to $254 million (£142.4m) in the first quarter of this year, up from $250 (£140.2m) for the same period last year.

The group put the improvement down to ‘cost reductions and a favourable product mix, which was partially offset by lower net pricing’.

Premier Automotive Group (PAG) reported a pre-tax profit, excluding special items, of $163m (£91.4m) for the first quarter, compared with a pre-tax loss of $55m (£31m) for the same period in 2005. The improvements were partially offset by unfavourable currency exchange and lower net pricing. First-quarter sales for PAG were $7.1bn (£4bn), compared with $7.6bn (£4.3bn) a year ago.

Ford Europe's sales (excluding PAG) in the first quarter were down to $6.8 billion (£3.8bn), compared with $7.7 billion (£4.32bn) during first quarter 2005.