SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp., the official importer and distributor of BMW in the Philippines now has the most extensive EV line-up in the country with the arrival of the first-ever iX1 premium compact Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV) and iX2 premium compact Sport Activity Coupe (SAC). This brings the all-electric BMW i range to seven which includes the iX3, iX, i4, i5, and i7.

When BMW let us drive the iX1 xDrive30 last July, we figured it’ll make for a great entry-level EV in the Philippines if it’d come in a less powerful, more range-friendly guise. Well, that’s now the case as the German automaker has added the iX1 eDrive20 to their line-up.

EV adoption is still in its infancy here in the Philippines. With just a handful of public chargers available, most EVs are relegated to urban use, not because of their range per se, but because of range anxiety. Even as carmakers manage to unlock sometimes stupendous ranges on modern EVs, range anxiety has caused owners to be overly cautious about taking one out of town; and they have every right to be. Unlike a conventional petrol or hybrid vehicle, once you run out of juice in an EV, it’s game over.