WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honda Motor ( HMC ) said on Wednesday it will boost its investments in three Ohio auto plants by $300 million to have flexibility to build EVs, hybrids and gas-powered vehicles on the same assembly line.

The Japanese automaker in 2022 had announced plans to invest $700 million in three plants but is now upping that to $1 billion, said Jennifer Thomas, a senior vice president at Honda's ( HMC ) U.S. unit.

Honda ( HMC ) is also building a joint venture Ohio battery plant with LG Energy Solution in which the overall investment is expected to be $4.4 billion.