Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors is to receive another $5.25bn (£2.9bn) from other Mitsubishi companies as it battles falling sales and escalating losses.

Three top executives have stepped down as MMC tries to battle to recover public trust after recall problems last year. The latest rescue package comes only eight months after MMC was given $4.8bn from the Mitsubishi group and other investors.

Yesterday, MMC said that it was cutting its sales forecast for 2005 to 1.337m vehicles compared with the 1.4m it projected only two months ago.

The company forecast it would lose £2.4bn in the current year - double the estimate it gave in November.