Chinese automaker BYD Co. plans to sell as much as $939 million (6 billion yuan) worth of bonds as the company continues to seek ways to raise funds to keep operations alive and going.

BYD Co. received shareholders' approval on Sept. 9 to put the bonds on the market by batches, with a 10-year maturity.

However, experts believe the company could lose more than gain more in its new bonds offering plan. The company will have to offer higher returns to entice investors, which could propel further losses in the long term and diminish profit margin.

Bloomberg data showed BYD Co. has a total of 16 billion yuan of bonds to sell.

It has a 15 billion yuan term loan maturing in 2012, and another 1 billion yuan due on 2014.

The introduction of new car models by rival automakers General Motors Co. (GM) and Honda Motor Co. created a dent in vehicle sales since last year. BYD Co. reported first semester profit for 2011 fell 89 percent from a year ago.

The company is part-owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.