Exactly this. In Germany, the median software developer is treated (and paid) pretty much the same as a blue collar worker, both by their company and by society at large.
From calling it "IT" to paying peanuts, no wonder no one smart and ambitious wants to get into CS here. All the smart kids seems to want to go into consulting and finance. So, of course Germany doesn't see the kind of outsized success in the Tech industry like the US or even the UK.
Volkswagen's (and in general other automaker's) software sucking is simply a fact downstream of that.
From calling it "IT" to paying peanuts, no wonder no one smart and ambitious wants to get into CS here. All the smart kids seems to want to go into consulting and finance. So, of course Germany doesn't see the kind of outsized success in the Tech industry like the US or even the UK.
Volkswagen's (and in general other automaker's) software sucking is simply a fact downstream of that.