policy in 1967. It was largely identical to the original Malaysian policy, with only minor changes to local content definitions. By 1970, both Malaysia and Singapore boasted a roughly equal number of assembly plants. The Singaporean plants were almost entirely backed by British and German companies, while the vast majority of Japanese companies backed Malaysian plants exclusively. The Singaporean automotive industry showed strong initial promise, but was ultimately short lived. Rising costs, low local content, competition from Japanese cars, limited exports and a small domestic market had made local assembly unsustainable by the mid-1970s. In July 1979, the Singaporean government announced plans to abolish preferential treatment for all local assemblers by the end of 1980. By July 1980, all major car assembly plants in Singapore had shut down. The automotive industry in Malaysia begins In mid-1967, the Malaysian government approved applications for six automobile assembly plants. 1970s Era of the Japanese car For over six decades (1890s–1950s), Western car companies dominated the Malayan automobile market. But in the late 1950s, Japanese car companies rose to challenge the status quo. The tides shifted dramatically over the course of the 1960s, and by the end of the 1970s, Japanese car companies had become the dominant players in the Malaysian market. The first Japanese cars arrived in Malaysia during the mid 1950s. Initially, the Japanese cars proved unpopular, and were perceived as inferior to their Western counterparts. The lightness and thin construction of the early Japanese cars were often criticised, and popularised the derogatory term 'Milo tin' in the 1960s. In addition to the quality concerns, anti-Japanese sentiment was still strong in 1950s and 1960s Malaysia, owing to bitter memories from the Japanese occupation several years prior. However, the Japanese cars continued to improve and gained a reputation for quality, reliability, high fuel efficiency and value for money. The Japanese cars were also on average cheaper than their more premium Western counterparts. Only a handful of Western companies such as Ford, Morris and Fiat were able to match the affordability of the Japanese cars. Datsun (later Nissan) lead the rise of Japanese cars in Malaysia. The greatest threat to Datsun's dominance came from another Japanese brand, Toyota. Both Toyota and Datsun battled fiercely for pole position in the Malaysian market, at times only fractions apart in total market share. Other Japanese car companies such as Mazda, Colt (later Mitsubishi) and Honda had also