DaimlerChrysler, the international car maker, saw its cost of raising finance in the debt capital markets rise as S&P, the international rating agency, downgraded its credit rating into triple-B territory.

The one-notch downgrade by the agency will be a setback to DaimlerChrysler, which has been widely tipped to be issuing as much as $3bn (€3.33bn) of new debt in the coming weeks. The cut in its rating will mean the car maker will probably have to offer investors higher coupon repayments on the bonds, which would now be seen as more risky.