[1] The Accent is produced for the Chinese market by Beijing Hyundai Co., a joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. For the Russian market it was assembled by the TagAZ plant in Taganrog until 2011, and since 2011 it was assembled by the HMMR plant in Saint Petersburg and sold under the new name Hyundai Solaris.

It continued to be called Dodge Brisa in Venezuela or Hyundai Excel in some markets, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia and Australia.

The overwhelming majority sold were the Sprint three-door, enticing buyers with free air-conditioning, driveaway pricing and from late 1998, standard power steering.

A double overhead cam (DOHC) engine was also available in America in the Accent GT but made a more-powerful 105 hp (78 kW) at 6000 rpm instead.

In the latter year, it achieved more than 44,000 sales (a 5.5% share of the total market), a record figure at the time, for an imported car.

Additionally, owners of the 1999 model were informed by their dealers that the power output of the 1.5-liter engine was in fact rated at 88 horsepower (66 kW).

After the 1997 Asian financial crisis that affected Indonesia in 1998, Bimantara went bankrupt and the production facilities was taken over by Hyundai (also the first time Hyundai started selling their cars with their own brand in Indonesia) and reintroduced the Cakra as Accent, still with the 1.5-liter 12-valve engine but with the facelifted model and additional 4-speed automatic transmission variant from 1998 to 2001.

[16] It was determined that there was an unacceptably high risk of chest injury during side impact crash, as a result, the car would not meet the minimum legal requirement in 1999.

This Accent was also the first to get a diesel version, with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder direct injection turbodiesel with four valves per cylinder, which was badged CRDi.

It was launched in India in October 1999 as the "Accent" and was still in production after some minor facelifts;[18] the car was phased out in 2013 for local market.

A pre-2003 model (a three-door liftback) was crash tested by Australian Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) under the rules as adopted by Euro NCAP.

[citation needed] The Accent continued to be sold in the U.S. in 2008 with an instrument panel overhaul and standard rear cupholders in the SE model.

In the Philippines, the third generation (MC sedan) was introduced and made available in 2006 exclusively with a 1.5-L D4FA common rail direct injection (CRDi) turbodiesel with VGT with 110 hp (82 kW; 112 PS) and 240 N⋅m (177 lb⋅ft) with a 5-speed manual transmission.

[citation needed] Hyundai held the world-premiere of the fourth generation Accent as the Verna at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

[52] All were equipped with a 1.6-litre MPi engine mated to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, while a 1.6-litre diesel was later added to the Active grade, but dropped shortly after.

The Sport grade combined the SR's 1.6-litre engine, Premium interior materials, mesh-look grille, cruise control, optional 6-speed automatic, and 16" alloy wheels while staying close to the Active's entry price.

The second-generation model (LC) continues to be sold in India as the Accent with the latest RB version carrying the Verna brand.

[63] Sedan body style also available in Indonesia only for taxi fleet and sold as Excel III, only available with 1.4 L petrol 108 PS Gamma engine and 5-speed manual transmission.

In 2015, the diesel variant was upgraded on both sedan and hatchback models with an electronic VGT (e-VGT), mated to a 6-speed manual or a new 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT).

Unlike the previous generations, the fifth-generation Accent is not sold in South Korea due to falling demand; instead the Venue crossover takes its place in 2019.

[76] Without supply from South Korea, the Accent was also phased out in Australia, leaving the entry model role to the Venue.

Features available for the first time on the Accent include forward collision avoidance alert, a touch-screen infotainment system with optional Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Hyundai Blue Link, proximity key entry with push-button start, seventeen-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, heated dual front bucket seats, and more.

[78] The Accent was discontinued in Canada in the end of 2020 and was indirectly replaced by the Kona and Venue crossovers, after axing only the sedan model in 2019.

The base option is a 1.5-litre Smartstream MPi petrol which generates 115 PS (113 hp; 85 kW) and 144 N⋅m (14.7 kg⋅m; 106 lb⋅ft) of peak torque, available with a 6-speed manual and CVT.

Two months later it was released in Peru with the same name, since the original fifth-generation model was not sold in these countries, keeping the previous generation until 2020.

[88] In late 2017, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing plant in Saint Petersburg started assembling the fifth-generation Solaris.

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, production of the Solaris at the Saint Petersburg plant was halted in March 2022.

[103] Its design is inspired by the Elantra with a wide LED light bar reminiscent of the Kona crossover, Staria minivan, Stargazer MPV, Grandeur sedan, and the Sonata facelift.

However, the car's rear seatbelt reminders were deemed non-compliant with Global NCAP's criteria and testers marked down the result of the frontal offset test for signs of failure of the car's load paths, citing questionable repeatability of the low fascia and footwell intrusion recorded in the test.

The single make series is promoted at grassroots level acting as a launch pad for future Formula One hopefuls.