This Hyundai flagship sedan nameplate traces back to 1986, when Hyundai introduced its large premium four-door as the Grandeur in Korea and, in selected export markets, as Azera. Over time, it became one of Hyundai’s longest-running upper-luxury sedan lines and an important marker of the brand’s move upmarket. Hyundai’s own vehicle history describes Azera as being produced since 1986, and notes that the third generation was the first full-size sedan sold in the U.S. market.
The nameplate has evolved through multiple generations rather than a break in production, with each redesign reflecting Hyundai’s changing design language and technology ambitions. Hyundai highlights the fifth generation, launched in 2011, as a major stylistic step, and the seventh generation, unveiled in 2022, continued the Grandeur/Azera lineage for markets outside Korea. In Hyundai’s global branding, Azera and Grandeur are essentially the same model family used under different market names.
As a result, Azera is best understood as Hyundai’s long-running flagship sedan export nameplate: a car that began as a prestige-oriented large sedan in the 1980s, matured through successive generations, and remained part of Hyundai’s global lineup as an upscale, full-size offering.