Instead of laughing, perhaps you’d like to see how many manual transmission models are sold under those two brands in Europe. Now do the same for the US.
Totally made up claim, the average passenger car age is 12.2 years in the US, and 12 years in Europe.
BMW market share is 2.4% in the U.S., 6.7% in Europe. Similar figures for Mercedes are 2.5% U.S. vs. 5% Europe.