Toyota Motor Corp. has asked two Japanese megabanks to set up a credit line totaling 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion), company sources said Friday, a move that signals the carmaker is struggling with rising funding costs in the market due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Toyota's financial base remains solid but it is aiming to increase its cash on hand to prepare for a further escalation in the epidemic, which has led to plant closures worldwide, the sources said. They added, the banks -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and MUFG Bank -- are likely to accept the request.

The commitment line would allow Toyota to borrow up to 500 billion yen from each of the banks when it needs, said the sources.

Toyota had around 5.2 trillion yen in cash and deposits as of the end of last year, according to its filings.

The coronavirus outbreak has forced Toyota to suspend plant operations in the United States and Europe. It has also seen a sharp fall in sales in China, where the outbreak started.

The world's second-largest automaker group by sales will also temporarily halt seven production lines at five of its domestic plants from April 3.