BMW Cebu Now Under New Management, X3 PHEV, M5 Teased

BMW Philippines has officially announced its newest dealership in the Visayas region in the form of Visayas Motor Works, Inc. (VMWI), a new subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation that will now handle BMW Cebu.

BMW Cebu, which used to be Autowelt BMW, is located in Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu. With VMWI now handling this dealership, expect an elevated level of customer service and aftersales quality, along with an improved retail experience the moment you set foot inside.

While a new dealership is instrumental in bringing more customers into the brand, it is the brand’s luxury cars that will undoubtedly be the major draw to their Cebu dealer. With that, BMW Philippines took this opportunity to also announce its upcoming vehicles for 2025–all of which are electrified to varying degrees.

BMW X3 PHEV

Confirmed for this year is the arrival of the next-generation 2025 BMW X3 plug-in which was revealed to the world last year. The new X3, while it is a new generation model, rides on a heavily upgraded version of the outgoing model’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform. The iX3, on the other hand, will use the electric vehicle-centric Neue Klasse platform, and the Neue Klasse X is the concept car that previews the upcoming iX3.

Now that the X3 plug-in hybrid’s arrival has been confirmed, the model that they’ll be bringing in is going to be the xDrive30e. This combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor mounted in the ZF eight-speed automatic, thus giving a total system output of 299 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque. This is good enough for a 0-100 kph time of just 6.5 seconds, while its 19.7 kWh battery is good for up to 90 kilometers of WLTP-rated range. For now, the future of the diesel X3 xDrive20d is still up in the air, since with the recent launch of the X5 plug-in hybrid, the the diesel variant of this SUV is going to be axed.

BMW M5 PHEV

Finally, the other plug-in hybrid BMW that’s been confirmed this year is the M5 plug-in hybrid. This high-performance sports sedan that has defined the BMW M brand has now been electrified, wherein its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 now has an electric motor mounted at the ZF eight-speed automatic. As a result, its total output is now at 717 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque, which is good enough for a 0-100 kph time of just 3.5 seconds.

Unfortunately, the new M5 weighs a whopping 2,445 kg versus the previous M5 Competition which weighs 1,971 kg. However, thanks to the 18.6 kWh battery, the M5 can travel up to 67 kilometers in pure electric mode.

With the new management of BMW Cebu, along with the arrival of two upcoming plug-in hybrid models, there are a lot of things to look forward to with the German luxury brand this year, whether you live in Metro Manila or in the Visayas region. Which plug-in hybrid BMW are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments section.