Shares of Ford Motor Co. edged up 0.4% in premarket trading Friday, after the automaker reported overnight third-quarter China vehicle sales that fell from a year ago, amid continued challenges resulting from the semiconductor shortage, but outperformed its U.S. vehicle sales performance by a wide margin. The company said it sold 150,100 vehicles in Greater China during the quarter, down 8.7% from a year ago, while Lincoln brand passenger vehicle sales increased 24%. The year-to-date total has reached 457,000 vehicles, up 11% from the year-ago period. That compares with a 25.8% decline in third-quarter U.S. vehicles sales, with Lincoln-brands sales down 35.8%, according to a MarketWatch analysis of monthly data, and a 7.0% drop in year-to-date sales through September. Ford’s stock has soared 75.8% year to date through Thursday, while shares of rival General Motors Co. have rallied 38.5% and the S&P 500 has advanced 16.8%.
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