Mumbai, Sept. 2: The Tatas will have a stark choice to make if they decide to leave Singur: Pune or Pantnagar.

Pune is the best bet in the short term: the prototype of the Nano was developed there and the Maharashtra government has made a strong pitch for the project, promising land on very lucrative terms.

Pantnagar in Uttarakhand is where the Tatas make the Ace — a small pickup that has been one of its top-selling products. The plant, which can produce 2.25 lakh units of the Ace, hasn’t been working at full capacity and the Nano could easily take up some of that slack.

The two existing plants could churn out a sufficient number of Nanos before the late-October launch. The October launch in inflexible: the Nano must come out before Maruti Suzuki comes out with its A-star, expected in November.

The A-star will replace the Alto, and Suzuki Motors India will be looking to position this as the most proximate rival to the Nano at a time sales of the old warhorse, Maruti 800, have started to flag.

But if the Tatas decide to shift the entire plant and machinery to a new location, it would probably be to a new site near Pune. Tata Motors already has two units in Pune — at Pimpri (800 acres) and Chinchwad (130 acres).

Pune is fast emerging as a major automobile hub and will house Volkswagen, General Motors and BMW plants.

Uttarakhand officials have indicated that there isn’t any more land readily available at Pantnagar, the auto hub that also houses two-wheeler makers like Bajaj.

Industry sources feel the Tatas will first look to start producing the Nano from these two locations. In the meantime, it could hunt for new sites where a bulk of the production would be concentrated. Besides Maharashtra, Orissa and Haryana have expressed keenness to host the project.