I wouldn't see the point in building a product down to a shoddy standard as you assume.

We constantly read of problems on this site with German marques I wonder if manufactures need to be a bit more on the ball where quality control is concerned when supplying cars to The USA.

I knew someone that made fuel injectors for a major manufacturer that insisted on a very high standard. If injectors did not meet these standards they were sold under their own brand name still of a perfectly acceptable standard.

Did I read on this site years ago that some Mercedes were made in India for "local" markets ? If I recall correctly these were not as highly regarded as Mercedes built elsewhere .No doubt guessing that other manufacturers do the same?

Last time I saw the quality league table for VAG cars built on the same platform and engines Top quality was Skoda then Audi then VW then a Seat. Is that still the case ?

Its all subjective - often down to the expectations of the car owner (VW or Audi owners would expect higher build quality than Skoda/SEAT ones, well, except discerning owners like us who know there's little if any difference in engineering quality), the factory its built at (more how its managed and the attitude of its staff as most from the same brand have the same equipment) and the quality of customer care.

The other main factor is how the car owner treats their car - if a marque attracts an older, more risk-averse, responsible owner who goes above and beyond in looking after and drving their car sympathetically, then its likely that that car will be more reliable and last longer. This includes them, to a degree, wanting to keep the car for a long time from new, rather than changing it every 2-3 years before the warranty runs out. Even, especially with VAG, the the level to which owners buy models equipped with parts with known problems, just as the lower powered dry clutch DSG boxes - I bet a far higher proportion of them are sold in VWs than Skodas, who are perhaps more likely to buy a manual. The Audis, being generally higher powered, use the more reliable wet clutch DSG type systems.

I suppose the other issue is the mix of what cars are actually sold by a manufacturer - more sporty cars (encouraging owners to thrash them, including when out of warranty), or luxury car with lots of fancy electronic/computerised toys on-board, or using new tech to make them faster/more economical etc which may be more prone to issues in the early years of the tech's development (all other things being equal, as they appear to be with VAG).

That said, comparing two unrealted makes shows that it often is down to the management choice as to how conservative they are with new tech or how much time/money they spend on R&D before it makes it into their vehicles - why I think most Far Eastern makes do far better on the reliability front (especially over the long term) and, even for 'volume' makes like Toyota, rarely have long lists of problems in HJ's Good & Bad Section on the reviews, compared to the European makes.