Honda, Nissan, Mazda to seek Japanese government help
March 5, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Japanese car makers Honda, Nissan and Mazda say they might need to join Toyota in seeking crisis loans from the Japanese government as the industry battles through the global economic downturn.
At this point the amount of money to be requested in unclear with all three companies declining to put a figure on the amount they would request from the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
“Due to current economic conditions, we are considering using public funds in addition to our usual sources of funding,” a Honda spokeswoman said.
“We’re not in a situation where we desperately need funds, but as the opportunity has presented itself, we believe we should make the best use of whatever funding is available”, said Nissan spokesman Mitsuru Yonekawa.
Meanwhile Mitsubishi Motors said that it was not considering borrowing government funds at the moment due to a lack of clarity over the lending scheme.
Toyota, Nissan and Mazda are bracing to end this financial year to March in the red due to weak sales and a strong yen, while Honda expects a sharp fall in profits.
Print it: 
The salesman how is Hyundai/Kia going they seem to the only car company not drowning.I have two Hyundai’s in my garage it is easy to see why.Well it is when you have an open mind.
In pure numerical terms there are currently enough unsold new cars parked around the world to cope with forseeable demand for about five months if not another one was built.
Even if demand recovers to about 80% of where it was (it’s currently running at about 65%), it’s abundantly clear that global production needs to be about half of recently historical levels for at least the next three years.
There are going to be some very big casualties.
I have owned 3 honda’s in the past (2 civics & a CRV). Each car was bought new and gave me trouble free motoring for years. HOWEVER, somewhere along the road Honda stopped listening to its customers and the competition caught up. I now drive a Kia Sorento Turbo Diesel and have never looked back. Honda and Toyota are asleep at the wheel and its showing. Hyundai & Kia have a profitable little business and will continue to prosper whilst the established brands continue to lose market share.
Zool, don’t you mean a profitable BIG business? Hyundai/Kia is already bigger than Honda.