
A year ago, investors had pretty much given up the big global carmakers for dead. Shares of Daimler, General Motors and Ford Motor were at 10-year lows. Electric vehicle start-ups without any sales were sometimes worth more than traditional automakers with tens of thousands of employees and factories all over the world. The pandemic looked as if it would seal the dinosaurs’ fate.But it turns out the old behemoths may not be doomed just yet. Earnings reported by Daimler on Thursday underlined a remarkable comeback by some traditional carmakers. These companies have managed to survive the pandemic, reorient to …