There’s an EV in our driveway. It’s ours, sort of. It’s shiny and blue and makes a satisfying humming sound when you step on the gas pedal. After years of writing about and reviewing dozens of EVs, I’m glad we’re a little less reliant on the petroleum industry and aren’t polluting as much on a daily basis. But after years of watching the world of electric vehicles evolve, there’s one thing I made sure to do when we brought our new ride home: We leased it.

Economists and auto experts seem to be divided on leasing. The general consensus is that if you change vehicles often, leasing is a good deal. The other side of that coin is that at the end of your lease, you are left with nothing. The vehicle goes and you have to start over. There are valid considerations for both, but for me it comes down to one big consideration: battery technology.

We recently sunk our hard-earned money (well, my wife actually works, I’m a journalist, which is like getting paid to do a series of homework assignments) into leasing the 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric. It has a range of 258 miles, supports charging up to 100kW, and has room for our two dogs and probably a few more people, but the dogs really are the most important thing here. It checks all the boxes for our transportation needs. But in three years it’s going back to Hyundai and we’re totally fine with that and that’s because the world of battery technology three years from now might be different. Or at least better.

Unlike gas engines, which have been improving for decades and whose pace of change has slowed, electric vehicles will continue to evolve at a rapid pace. If you’ve been paying attention to the world of electric vehicles at all, you’ve already seen advances in battery and motor technology. A quick way to see how things have evolved over the past 10 years is to take a look at one of the longest-selling electric vehicles on the road today, the Nissan Leaf.