Once a cornerstone model for Hyundai Canada, the Accent is going away after 2020. The Korean automaker’s Canadian division confirmed that the subcompact model will not return to the lineup next year.
In 2019, Hyundai Canada axed the sedan version of the Accent, leaving only the hatchback version for our market. In another sign of how quickly fortunes have been changing for cars, particularly small ones, both variants of the model had been redesigned recently, for the 2018 model-year.
And so the Accent’s Canadian career comes to an end on its fifth generation since it was first introduced in September 1994. Since then the model has sold more than 460,000 units in Canada. For 10 years, the Accent was actually the top-selling subcompact car in the country – particularly in Quebec where it was – still is – a ubiquitous presence on roads.
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In the eyes of new-vehicle buyers, however, the Accent’s stock fell quickly and sharply in the past two years. The first big blow to its fortunes came with the arrival of the Kona (14,497 and 25,817 units sold in Canada in 2018 and 2019, respectively). Now the Venue is on the scene to apply salt to the wound. The Accent has seen its sales fall 59 percent this year in comparison to the first half of 2019, to 1,362 units (sales of the Kona are also down, due to the coronavirus of course, but by “only” 28 percent.)
“In the midst of the most aggressive product offensive in Hyundai history, we are rapidly improving the breadth and width of our successful product portfolio. The successful introductions of the Kona and Venue represent great opportunities to offer the best, award-winning vehicles on the market to our customers who are seeking entry-level and well-equipped transportation.”
- Don Romano, CEO, Hyundai Canada
Among that choice of entry-level and well-equipped transportation, consumers won’t find the Accent as of 2021, however…
