The U.S. automaker Chrysler, which is controlled by Fiat of Italy, reported Thursday, April 26 a four-fold leap in first quarter profit to $473 million (357 million euros) from $116 million in the same period a year earlier, AFP reported.

Chrysler also confirmed its full-year target of around $65 billion in sales and a net profit of about $1.5 billion, a Fiat statement said.

The rise was "driven primarily by a 40 percent increase in U.S. retail sales," the company said in a statement, adding that its market share in the United States had risen to 11.2 percent from 9.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011.

The automaker also saw a 25-percent rise in sales to $16.359 billion and a 55-percent-rise in core operating profit to $740 million.

"Another positive quarter is the affirmation that the Chrysler team is maintaining its focus," Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler and Fiat, was quoted as saying.

"We continue to deliver on the targets in our five-year plan and are now focused on successfully launching the Dodge Dart, a car that is a true melding of Chrysler's and Fiat's engineering and styling strengths," he said.

The Dodge Dart is a fuel-efficient model based on a Fiat design.

Fiat took over management of Chrysler in June 2009 after the U.S. company emerged from bankruptcy proceedings. Fiat now owns a 58.5-percent stake in Chrysler and the two companies plan to produce six million cars a year by 2014.