F-segment, luxury cars, is a car classification defined by European Commission. It is a niche of the European market (approx. 0.3%) and the range is limited to only a few models. Typical F-segment cars include the Audi A8, BMW 7-series, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS, Genesis G90, Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Luxury car saloons, as we recognise them today, can trace their origins back decades with some of the above manufacturers having an unbroken lineage dating back to the 1950s. Mercedes-Benz, for example, offered its unibody 'Ponton' luxury car in 1954, which was a direct predecessor of the first S-Class which appeared in 1972. Jaguar's XJ appeared in 1968, the same year as the precursor to the BMW 7-Series, which itself debuted in 1977. Audi and Lexus entered the luxury car market in the late 80s with their V8 (later A8) and LS models, respectively.
In South Korea, motoring brands often linked up with long-established foreign car manufacturers to build their first luxury cars. The first Hyundai Equus was developed with Mitsubishi, who released the almost identical Proudia and Dignity models in 1999. The Daewoo Arcadia was a badge engineered Honda/Acura Legend while the initial SsangYong Chairman was heavily based on Mercedes-Benz mechanicals.
Cadillac is the only American manufacturer to officially import some of their luxury cars into Europe, including the fourth and fifth generation Sevilles which were replaced by the STS in 2004 and CT6 in 2016.