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If there's a revelation to the public consciousness from February being the worst month of U.S. car and truck sales in 27 years, let it be this:
Detroit's automakers are not alone in their misery, despite their frequent depiction as the only dunderheads unable to peddle cars.
Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 40% drop in February U.S. sales, amid reports that its finance unit is seeking $2 billion in loans backed by the Japanese government to weather the slump in sales.
That's right, even mighty Toyota is asking for a bailout. Or a bridge loan, or helping hand, or whatever they call taxpayer cash infusions in Nagoya.
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The Japanese auto industry may not be immune from the forces reshaping the auto industry after all. Three of Japan's largest automakers are expected to approach the Japanese government asking for financial assistance as soon as today.
Bloomberg reports, "Toyota, forecasting its first loss in 59 years, may ask Japan's government for 200 billion yen ($2 billion) in loans for its credit unit as private financing has become too expensive, public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday, without naming its source." Toyota , the world's largest automaker, suffered a 40 percent sales drop in February.
The company is already "in talks with a Japanese government-backed bank on possible lending," the AP reports, "underlining the serious woes facing the car industry amid plunging global sales. Toyota Motor Corp. said no details had been decided," but on the news, Japan's Nikkei index "flirted with 26-year lows."
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