Sales increase was the biggest factor leading to the company's total profits soared. Ford's sales in the first quarter in 2011 reached 1.4 million vehicles, up 16% over the same period in 2010.
Most of Ford's profit came from moving vehicles here in North America, contributed $ 1.8 billion in total profit of the company. In Europe, Ford's profit reached $ 293 million. Ford's total profits reached $ 2.8 billion, including $ 2.1 billion from activities related to automobiles. Ford Credit earned $ 713 million in the quarter.
Further good news comes on the debt front, as Ford managed to pay down its debt by $ 2.5 billion during Q1 while also increasing liquidity by $ 2.8 billion. That means Ford has a much larger cushion in the event the industry's economic situation once again takes a turn for the worse, while also paying less money in interest. Ford eliminated $ 1 billion in annual interest costs in 2010.
