Honda Motor Co. said Friday that it will invest 4.2 billion reals ($803 million) in Brazil in a bid to boost its production of “flexible-fuel vehicles,” which are powered by both gasoline and ethanol. Following the announcement, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva released a statement welcoming Honda’s investment plan, which is expected to create around 1,700 new jobs at its factory in Sao Paulo. In Brazil, flexible-fuel vehicles have become more popular as they can run on bioethanol produced by fermenting botanical resources such as sugar cane. The Brazilian government has been focu…