Expensive models are made on the same production line, usually owned by the same group multinational that makes the cheap and mid-range brands. The factory, kno

Expensive models are made on the same production line, usually owned by the same group multinational that makes the cheap and mid-range brands. The factory, knowledge and workers who made the premium one when it was independent are now gone. It's exactly as you say. Even the vanishingly few properly independent premium brands have come markedly downmarket quality wise, by using the same techniques. In the 80s and 90s the distinction and spread across the market was real. The buyouts and takeovers hadn't consolidated into just a few mega groups. The expensive fridge or washing machine was built, and lasted very differently. Now we have Samsung et al building £1,500 premium fridge freezers and £800 washing machines that are just as unrepairable as the cheap crap. It goes far wider than just appliances though.