Ford has announced that last year was “one of the company’s best years ever”, driven by a strong performance in the US and Asia.

The company said net income for 2013 was $7.2 billion, up $1.49 billion on the previous year.

Q4 2013 net income was $3 billion, or 74 cents per share, an increase of $1.4 billion compared with the same period in 2012, the company said.

The strong performance helped offset losses in Europe and South America.

Ford president and chief executive Alan Mulally said 2013 was “an outstanding year”.

“We are well positioned for another solid year in 2014,” he added.

Ford net income for 2013 was $7.2 billion, up $1.49 billion on the previous year

The results follow Ford’s warning in December that the cost of introducing new vehicles and a deteriorating Venezuelan economy would hit its profits in 2014.

Ford plans to triple the number of product launches in North America this year.

But that will hit its profit margins, the company said, as older models will have to be discounted and Ford will have to spend more on marketing.

Ford produced 6.4 million vehicles in 2013, up 646,000 from a year ago.

As a result of its 2013 performance, Ford said it planned to make record profit-sharing payments of about $8,800 per person to around 47,000 of its hourly employees in the US.

Ford has been open in acknowledging that 2014 will be a transition year for the firm, both in terms of products and changes in leadership.

Alan Mulally is scheduled to step down at the end of the year.

He is credited both with leading the firm back to profitability after the 2008-2009 financial crisis, as well as with changing the corporate culture at Ford.

Ford faces difficulty in the future returning its European operations to profitability, as well as maintaining its streamlined supply chain to avoid the oversupply issues that plagued Ford and other US car makers during the financial crisis.

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