This. German auto makers are now just huge armies of managers and consultants since they outsourced most tech/software R&D to suppliers (Bosch, Continental, etc.) to reduce costs by having the suppliers take the financial risks associated with R&D.

Outsourcing R&D was a typical MBA move since it meant they could keep a lot more money in their pockets and have the suppliers bid each other to the ground on price, however, this now means the suppliers have most of the cutting edge tech now and are free to sell it to other lower tier manufacturers which in the past had no resources for advanced tech.

So now you can have a Hyundai with the same tech as a Merc since they all have the same Bosch/Continental ECUs with some minor tweaks meaning the main selling point of the luxury brands is now the design, badge and perceived brand value rather than any proprietary tech.

This is what drove the major suppliers to halt R&D investments in Germany and expand massively in Eastern Europe in a quest to bring costs down and increase their success in the bids for future contracts.