Why did BMW PH only bring one variant of i4 EV?

Earlier today, BMW Philippines distributor SMC Asia Cars Distributor Corp officially revealed the i4 electric sedan. It now serves as the newest member of BMW's all-electric i lineup that consists of the iX, iX3, i7, and the aforementioned i4.

The i4 is only available in just one variant, the eDrive35. This gives the sedan 286 PS with 400 Nm of torque and a range of up to 483 km thanks to a 70.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It can sprint from 0 – 100 km/h in 6 seconds and reach a top speed of 190 km/h.

Initially, we were expecting BMW Philippines to launch not one but two variants of the i4. In other markets, the i4 is also available as the eDrive 40(RWD with 340 PS and 430 Nm), xDrive40 (AWD with 401 PS and 600 Nm), and the M50 (AWD with 544 PS and 795 Nm). Curious as to why the automaker only brought one variant to the Philippines, we asked Spencer Yu, president of SMC Asia Cars Distributor Corp. the decision to have just one variant of the i4 here in the country.

According to the executive, they only brought one model of the i4 here because they consider the eDrive35 very suitable for the Philippine market. While it may only have a single electric motor, this benefits the vehicle as it makes the i4 relatively lightweight.

“The eDrive35 is something that is suitable to our market. Being a single-motor 2WD variant, we can expect it to be lighter. And for what the car will be used for by the Filipino customer, the eDrive35 is the right model and of course, there's also a big price advantage over the 4WD variants,” said Yu.

We then asked if customers who prefer the eDrive 40, xDrive 40, and M50 versions of the i4 can get one from BMW Philippines. Yu said that for now, they cannot accommodate those particular variants.

So if you're looking to get a BMW i4 soon, you can only get the eDrive35 version of the all-electric sedan complete with ConnectedDrive.