I've seen this question pop up several times over the years I've been here, and it never really gets addressed... So I figured I'd take a stab. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Certain figures might be fluid, such as the technician headcount at M-B (they might use 11 techs, not 8, for instance) but the logistics and $$$ is the same in any auto industry.

Another snack for thought... very few pieces of any car are manufactured by the auto brand themselves. On average, 80% of the car's components are farmed out and tier-2 suppliers handle the build of the copyrighted parts. In other words, a vast majority of cars, whether it's a Nissan, Mercedes, or a Ferrari, use Visteon for headlamp production... it's just each one uses a different revision. Same for sensors, Bosch is king. Each brand has its preferred vendor (Ferrari prefers Magneti Marelli over Bosch), but the overall effect is the same.

Cheers,