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.

[citation needed] What distinguishes Hawtai from rival private Chinese automakers is its diesel engine production ability.

Around the time of the 2009 Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization, this American automaker discussed the possibility of an asset sale with Hawtai.

[12] In 2002, Hawtai began a licensing deal,[12] partnership, or joint venture with Hyundai motors, but, as of late 2010, this has ceased.

[18] The Santa Fe was the fifth most-purchased SUV in China in 2010,[19] and at least some Hawtai versions of the car may differ significantly from those sold in other markets.

[citation needed] Hawtai's newest SUV, the B35 Bolgheri (Baolige in Chinese) utilizes Hyundai platform technology.

[7] Hawtai claims production capacity figures for this location of one million engines, 500,000 whole vehicles, and the same number of transmissions.

[28] The company has exported to Angola, southeast Asia, and one or more of the CIS nations, a grouping of former Soviet Bloc states.