Japan's Honda Motor Co said on Friday it plans to export 70 percent more China-made cars to Europe this year, taking advantage of low costs in the world's No 3 vehicle producing country.

The carmaker will ship 42,000 Jazz subcompacts assembled at a joint venture in the southern city of Guangzhou to Europe this year, up from 24,600 units in 2006, Honda said.

Export value will grow to 3.7 billion yuan this year from 2.2 billion yuan last year, executives from the venture said.

Honda became the sole foreign carmaker to have a totally export-oriented car base in China when it formed the 50,000-unit venture in 2003 with $82 million of registered capital. It has a 65 percent stake in the venture with the remainder held by Dongfeng Motor Corp and Guangzhou Automobile Corp - China's two major auto groups.

"We enjoy low costs here (compared with Japan)," said Hironori Kanayama, the venture's president.

To cut costs, Kanayama said the venture uses the spare parts supply networks of Honda's other car venture with Guangzhou Automobile, which targets the Chinese market, and an engine plant with Dongfeng.

Sixty percent of spare parts in the 1.2-and-1.4-liter Jazz cars are purchased in China, he said.

Honda now sells the China-made Jazz cars in 10 European countries, including Germany, Italy, the UK and France.

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