In Europe, people use synthetic oil more commonly than those in the US do so that'd explain why the longer intervals might then be OK.
In the owners service manual, it says that oil should be changed twice as often under "severe" conditions like: hot, cold temps, idling, stop and go driving, dusty conditions, etc......hmmmmmm, like how MOST cars are driven IMHO.
Despite what they say about better fuel systems and better petroleum oils, I'd still advise more frequent oil changes if one expects the engine to last longer than the typical warranty life (all that the manufacturer has to worry about).
When I see oil draining from an engine with 10K miles on the oil change and see clumps of thick gunk coming out, I'd say that something isn't as good as what people are being told.