I think the problem with modern cars in the US is quite the opposite - the increasingly well-tuned optics are exacerbating the problem.
Modern cars indeed have a very sharp, well-designed cutoff at the top of their beam patter. This makes correct vertical aiming very sensitive: aim just slightly too high and oncoming drivers get nearly the full output of your headlights; aim just a little too low and your vision range becomes noticeably limited. Older headlights, with much softer upper beam patterns, were far more forgiving.
The problem is bad enough that, on my 2022, I carry an 8mm wrench in the glovebox so I can adjust the headlight aim as needed. This is particularly important because the aim is sensitive enough that loading or unloading the back of the car changes the level stance enough to put the headlights noticeably out of aim.
Compounding this problem, it's very common for cars to have poorly-adjusted headlights from the factory, often too high. I think this is because the factory adjusts the lights for a combination of the rated loading and not getting complaints from new buyers (which is more likely when they are aimed too low). Additionally, at least in the US, the "correct" alignment of the headlights is defined by the position of the headlight themselves (the top cutoff should be level to the position of the bulb, is the simple version, although I think the more formal version specifies a measuring distance and slight upward tolerance). This means that tall vehicles like pickup trucks will blind oncoming drivers of shorter vehicles when properly adjusted---once again, this was a much more forgiving problem when the top of the light pattern was much softer, but has become extremely noticeable now that headlights emit their full output almost all the way to the top.
I understand that auto-leveling headlights and headlights with a cabin height adjustment are much more common in Europe. For whatever reason they're rare in the US, and I think it might be difficult to get them to comply with US regulations which I understand to be somewhat archaic on this topic. Auto-leveling is probably the best technical solution available.
How does it work on your German SUV? are the headlights aimed appreciably below level? Perhaps Germany uses a fixed height at fixed distance standard, which I think might be a better choice overall, but does have its downsides (allows lights on small cars to be aimed a lot higher).