The move away from sedans and toward crossovers or SUVs among North American car buyers has been happening for a few years now. In fact it’s hard to find sedans of any type among some automaker line ups at the moment, and today news has been released that another long-standing nameplate is being retired.
2020 Hyundai Accent 5 door. PHOTO: Hyundai Canada
Hyundai Canada today announced the planned retirement of its Accent nameplate. First released in September of 1994, the Accent helped establish Hyundai as a key automotive player in Canada.
Retiring in its fifth generation, the Accent has sold more than 462,494 units in Canada since it was first brought to market until the end of June 2020.
Accordingly, the Accent managed to retain the number one spot in the competitive subcompact car segment in Canada for an unmatched ten consecutive years, from 2009 to 2018. The Accent was also the star of the first global reveal in Canadian International Autoshow history, highlighting the importance of the vehicle in the Canadian market. It found particular success in the province of Quebec, where Hyundai continues to hold its strongest market share in Canada.
“In the midst of the most aggressive product offensive in Hyundai history, we are rapidly improving the breadth and depth of our successful product portfolio,” said Don Romano, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada. “The successful introductions of both the Hyundai Venue and Kona represent great opportunities to offer the very best, award-winning vehicles on the market to our customers who are seeking entry-level and well-equipped transportation.”
The Accent is set to retire as the Hyundai product portfolio continues to grow at an unprecedented rate with numerous all-new nameplates in new segments proven to be increasingly popular with Canadian vehicle buyers – with even more to come.
Sub-compact sedan lovers (yes, there still are some out there) are now faced with an increasingly smaller amount of options to choose from. A similar challenge exists among minivan devotees and perhaps the fact that a few automakers remain dedicated to that family-hauler segment, may give hope to those who still love being low to the ground and compact in their surroundings.
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