Nissan plans bond sale across Europe

Nissan Motor Co plans to sell bonds in Europe, liquidate real estate and seek government loans as the collapse in global car demand pushes Japan's third-largest carmaker to its first loss in nine years.

The company is "completely focused on cash," said Chief Financial Officer Alain Dassas in an interview on Wednesday in Tokyo. "We've been burning cash in the first nine months."

Nissan must repay 757 billion yen ($8.2 billion) in bonds and loans maturing this year, according to its latest balance sheet. Car demand in the US and Japan, the Tokyo-based company's two largest markets, is plummeting amid the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression.