The Asians have had them technically beat for a very long time in terms of mass market autos. They only survive as a mostly niche "luxury" brand in the USA.
I saw an interview with the head of Mercedes well over a deacde ago where he admitted as much. By his estimate, the Asians had a $10K cost advantege over them. His goal was to narrow this to 5K because "luxury" buyers woukd pay that much just for the "prestige".
Expensive to buy and maintain, they are among the least effective options to meet your everyday transportation needs. And their sales figures reflect as much.
A. S. Grove (1996). Only the Paranoid Survive. ISBN 0-385-48258-2