After outlining a plan earlier this year to offer hybrid vehicles by the 20-teens, Mazda has announced a financing plan to achieve that goal. Mazda, Japan’s fifth-largest automaker, will issue up to $1.1 billion in new shares to finance its hybrid initiative.
Mazda has largely steered clear of the hybrid market – instead relying on improvements to the internal combustion engine – but will fully embrace hybrid technology as it moves towards compliance with upcoming emissions regulations in the United States and Europe.
According to Reuters, Mazda will raise up to $1.1 billion for hybrid development from the issuing of 315.2 million new shares and the sale of 96.8 million treasury notes.
Although the move is expected to negatively impact Mazda’s share prices in the short-term, the mid- and long-term outlooks appear to be good for the Japanese automaker. Mazda has lagged behind its cross-country rivals in hybrid technology for several years now, but the boost in hybrid funding should allow Mazda to near equal footing. No word on when Mazda’s first hybrid vehicle will debut, but the automaker has set the goal of reducing its emissions by 30 percent by 2015.
