Cash key as Nissan faces a dive into red

Nissan plans to tap capital markets, seek government loans and sell property to conserve cash as it faces its first loss in nine years.

The company is "completely focused on cash", chief financial officer Alain Dassas said. "We've been burning cash in the first nine months."

Nissan said last month that it was cutting 1200 jobs in Sunderland and later said it would axe 20,000 worldwide, leading to fears of more cuts in Britain.

Nissan must repay 757 billion yen (£5.75 billion) in bonds and loans maturing this year. Dassas said it may sell bonds in Europe in the next few months, and may try to raise funds in the US or Japan.

The company got through 615 billion yen in the first nine months of the fiscal year.

Nissan also aims to borrow from the European Investment Bank to fund research and development. The US Energy Department is providing $25 billion (£17.5 billion) in low-cost loans for the production of fuel-efficient vehicles.