I don't think MB was ever anything else then a profit driven company. That's not changed. Competition has changed a lot, though, comparing the 20's, 50's and even the 70's. What's changed -maybe because of that competition- is the version of profit-driven policy, a thing that morphed from one shape into another. Keeping all the parts for all their classics is entirely possible on a logistical level. Like a public bus company, some routes will make money, others will not. One pays for the other, in order to achieve the largest possible network of routes. Together they are still in the black, and for MB that meant that a unique parts-service was possible, something only MB has ever been able to offer.
These days, much like the privatized an gov postal services, railway services and bus services, all non-profitable pathways are being deleted and that sounds the end of what was once an excellent principle. I don't think MB will be chasing anyone producing copied parts for any of their 20+ year cars anymore. With their years in China, they have learnt to accept and adapt, no doubt.
