Global automakers and suppliers are on track to get at least $100 billion of bank financing as the coronavirus pandemic hammers car sales.
Mazda Motor is the latest to join the rush, with Nikkei reporting that the company is seeking a 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion) loan from Japanese banks.
The automaker wasn’t the source of the report and there is nothing that the carmaker can comment on, according to Fumie Tachikake, a Mazda spokeswoman.
Almost all major global automakers have tapped banks for financing since early March — either making drawdowns from existing facilities or seeking new loans — as the viral outbreak puts global auto sales on course for a 22% slump this year, based on an IHS Markit Ltd. forecast.
The financing is part of a wider global rush, with companies across a host of industries bolstering balance sheets as they confront tumbling sales, shuttered facilities and rising cash burn.
Mazda asked for loans from MUFG Bank Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank Ltd, as well as the government-owned Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd., according to Nikkei, which didn’t say how it obtained the information. The banks are expected to agree to provide the financing.—Bloomberg
