I'm sure that's true, and one cannot deny Lexus reliability, even though each new or redesigned Lexus, IMO, seems built with lighter and thinner materials than what preceded it. I've noticed a big difference in the last 8-10 years.
Also, given the attachment that people in Nordic countries once had for Saab and Volvo (particularly Volvo), it seems obvious to me that another big factor was how both brands went seriously downhill under the ownership of American corporations. Under GM ownership, Saab was stripped of most of the nice hatchbacks/wagons that Saab fans and traditionalists liked, turned into mostly sedans for their passenger-car line, and forced to sell both rebadged GM and Subaru products. Volvo, under Ford ownership, while escaping the rebadged-Ford trap, nevertheless lost much of their uniqueness, and, like Saab, lost many of their traditional owners. Then, to add injury to insult, both companies were dumped back to overseas firms to try and sort out the mess....after the mess had been created. Volvo generally fared better than Saab...but is still on some shaky ground. Swedes and Norweigians, in the meantime, turned to Lexus products instead....a least the ones that didn't go German.