Fiat India Automobiles announced Thursday that it would jack up the prices of the Grande Punto hatchback and Linea sedan by 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent from the start of the New Year, citing an increase in the input costs.

The prices of Linea hatchback car and the Grande Punto have been hiked by Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 from January 1, 2010.

Commenting on the issue, the car giant said, “Input material costs have gone up substantially and without wanting to burden our consumers too much, the cars will now be available with a price increase of 2-2.5 per cent.”

However, the company decided to leave the prices of the Palio Stile hatchback untouched.

Fiat India Automobiles, which is joint venture between Fiat and Tata Motors, manufactures the Palio Stile, Grande Punto and Linea models at its Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra.