Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover has said conditions aren't right for it to borrow from the bond market and that it was seeking alternative funding.
A Bloomberg report said the automaker needed to raise $1bn within 14 months to replace maturing bonds while feeding an investment programme for electric cars which is burning through cash.
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To support its needs, JLR could increase a receivables facility or turn to other bank financing, with further options including leasing assets and tapping export credit, treasurer Ben Birgbauer said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Tata Motors shocked investors last week when it revealed the extent of the problems its UK arm is having in China.
Sales dropped 35% in the world's biggest car market in the nine months to 31 December, sending the unit to a GBP273m (US$354m) loss and knocking as much as 30% off Tata stock.
"Market conditions presently are less favourable in general and our bonds are trading below par, reflecting our recent financial performance," Birgbauer told Bloomberg.
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By GlobalData"We have always said we monitor the debt market and look to issue debt when market conditions are more favourable."
JLR's 4.5% bonds maturing January 2026 have dropped to a low of 77 cents on the euro, equivalent to a yield of about 8.9%, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.
The company is not planning to change its preference for unsecured financing, Birgbauer said. Remaining resources include a GBP1.9bn undrawn credit facility and GBP2.5bn of cash, based on the quarterly numbers published by Tata.
Executives have told investors it wasn't possible to predict when China volumes would begin to recover, highlighting international trade tensions and how much stimulus the state chooses to provide as determining factors.
JLR has said it could still grow global sales in fiscal 2020 with the help of other markets and the launch of the redesigned Range Rover Evoque.
