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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said its first-quarter net profit rose to €478 million ($539 million) as North American consumers snapped up the auto maker's higher-priced sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

The results suggest Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's plan to turn the U.S. market into a big-vehicle profit machine may be paying off. He has already curtailed some car production in favor of pushing out more Jeep SUVs.

North America's adjusted operating profit more than doubled to €1.23 billion ($1.39 billion), compared with €601 million ($678 million) for the same time period a year earlier. The company's operating margin also grew to 7.2%. Although not equal to General Motors Co.'s 8.6% for the quarter, the margins are much closer than they had been after Mr. Marchionne's choice to go all in on trucks and SUVs. Ford Motor Co. reports its results Thursday and generally targets North American margins above 9%.

Investors will be looking for signs during Tuesday's conference call on whether Mr. Marchionne believes these results are sustainable over a longer period.

For the quarter, the Italian-American car maker's net profit was a major jump from the €27 million the company generated during the first three months of 2015. The previous-year results, however, excluded Ferrari which was spun off in January. On an adjusted operating basis, the company earned €1.38 billion, compared with €700 million for the same time period a year earlier. First-quarter revenue rose 3% to €26.6 billion.

On a regional breakdown, Fiat Chrysler pulled off what few competitors have been able to do in Latin America: make money. The company generated €11 million on an adjusted basis, compared with a loss of €65 million for the same time period a year earlier. Much of the profit was attributed to cutbacks in marketing costs, improvements in production and sales of higher-priced vehicles such as the Jeep Renegade.

The auto maker also earned €96 million in Europe. While an improvement over the same period a year earlier, Fiat Chrysler has yet to fully connect with the recovery in that market. In March, new car sales in the European Union rose 6%, bringing volumes back to levels seen in 2007.

While SUV sales are increasing in Europe, smaller, low-profit cars are still dominant in Europe due to higher gas prices and more narrow city streets. Fiat Chrysler is pushing Jeep hard in Europe, beginning production of Jeep Renegades in a plant in southern Italy.

In Asia Pacific, Fiat Chrysler's adjusted operating profit fell 81% to €12 million. The company blamed lower vehicle shipments as it transitions to local Jeep production.

China is a major piece of Fiat Chrysler's expansion plans, with Mr. Marchionne targeting a fivefold increase in Jeep sales there to 500,000. The group spent $750 million to open a new factory in southern China late last year to produce the vehicles locally, thus avoiding high import tariffs, and exploit the surge in demand for SUVs there. It is starting pre-sales of a new locally produced Jeep Renegade at the Beijing car show this week.

Deborah Ball contributed to this article.

Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2016 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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