Japan's Honda Motor Co will halt output of motorcycles in Spain at the end of March reflecting steep downturn in Europe, with bike output in Europe to move to Italy, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday.

The company's Spain factory, with capacity of producing 50,000 units a year, currently puts out midsize and large bikes and related parts, but the plant will continue parts output after March, the report said.

The move will leave its Italian plant, which makes midsize and large bikes with annual capacity of 170,000 units, as the sole manufacturing base in Europe, the paper said.

Honda sold 276,000 motorcycles in Europe in the year ended in March, down from 313,000 a year earlier.

The company last month projected its European sales in the current business year ending next March to fall to 205,000 units. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Japan