Yeah, cup holder is quite an issue for German cars in general. I've been living there for a long time and it seems to me like a cultural matter. Germans do not tend to eat and trink a lot while driving.
I always had German cars over there: a Beetle, 3 Opel Record, 2 Audi, a BMW 633CSi, 3 MB but cannot remember ever having a decent cup holder.
I recall a time even in movie theaters there were no cup holders at the seats like in the USA. You yourselves are the cup holders
.
Perhaps they are catching up with the Amis (German abbrev. for Americans) now.