Mazda has reportedly requested over $4 billion in loans to help it ride out the financial impact from the coronavirus.
Mazda has requested loans totalling $300 billion Yen (almost $4.3 billion AUD) from major lenders in its home market as it seeks to survive severe slowdowns and revenue losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a report from Reuters, the Japanese carmaker has already secured loan extensions from lenders, including Japan’s largest financial institutions Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group.
The source spoke to the newswire strictly on anonymity given the information was yet to go public, however, it appears that the loan extensions will be secured.
Like all vehicle manufacturers, Mazda is riding a particularly tough financial wave, having to close the doors on some of its production facilities temporarily and watch sales fall in markets across the globe.
Australia is no less forgiving, with the car market here – which experienced its worst month of sales in recorded history last month – desperately looking for buyers. For Mazda, it suffered a 60 per cent loss in sales in April 2020, year on year. Year to date, it is down almost 35 per cent.
But Mazda Australia – currently the nation’s second-best-selling brand behind Toyota – also conceded some of its volume when it launched the new Mazda 3 last year, stripping away wallet-friendly but basic entry-level trim grades to concentrate on a more premium and feature-packed lineup. Combined with the fact Mazda has always been stronger in selling to private buyers rather than large fleet deals, and the ensuing coronavirus lockdown this year, it is likely a turbulent financial wave Mazda will need to ride out for months yet.
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The Mazda 3 hatch, one of their core cars – so poorly designed. Great drive – just not practical – there are much better hatches out there.