Hawtai (officially Rongcheng HawTai Automobile Co., Ltd.)[4] is a Chinese automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Beijing, China[5] although it produces far from the capital. Selling cars and SUVs under the Hawtai brand, from 2002 to 2010 the company had a joint venture or other form of legal cooperation with Hyundai Motors that manufactured Hyundai-brand passenger cars for the mainland China market; Hawtai continues to use some Hyundai technology today.[6]
As of late 2010, its production capacity was reported to be 350,000 units/year.[7][note 1] What distinguishes Hawtai from rival private Chinese automakers is its diesel engine production ability and a late 2000s dissolution of its partnership with a famous name foreign firm.[citation needed] Billing itself as a clean vehicle brand, Hawtai is a supplier to the Chinese State.[8]