Klaus Ulrich looked into the history of “Made in Germany”:

• In 1887 the British passed the Merchandise Marks Act which required foreigners to label their products as having been made in a foreign country.
• This was done because of a perception that Germany profited by selling cheap knock-offs of British wares.
• The hope was that by labelling products as foreign, British consumers would buy local and boost local industry.
• It backfired. The “Made in Germany” tag came to signify quality, and boosted demand for German manufacturing.
• German cars and heavy machinery continue to benefit from an association between German engineering and quality to this day.

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Via: Reddit