In Europe, apparently, most AC charging (via Mennekes Type 2 which we don't use in the US as we use J1772) is bring your own cable.
In Australia, tethered or not depends a lot on the location. At a rough estimate, 50% of AC "chargers" overall are tethered. So I have to buy a cable anyway, even if I don't need it half the time. Plus, most charging further than the local shopping centre will be DC fast charging anyway.
I was surprised to read that the J1772 specification explicitly prohibits non-tethered operation. Then I realised that this is because of the way that the proximity pilot is handled in J1772 versus type 2. With J1772 it's the trigger switch, with type 2 it's a resistor indicating the cable's current rating (the horribly named "ampacity"). The trigger switch is replaced by a motorised locking mechanism in type 2. That way, some grub can't just yank out the plug and put it into their vehicle parked in the next bay, or just yank it out and leave it in the gutter. I guess you have the option of putting a padlock on the trigger, but how often do you use that? Perhaps only if you end up on the wrong side of the railway tracks some day. It seems to me that type 2, being a later standard, is a little better thought out.
Once again, the US has the first workable standard (J1772, fortunately Avcon didn't survive), and gets stuck with it. It reminds me of NTSC broadcast TV standards (Never Twice Same Color), and 120 V (which many people still think of as 110 V for some strange reason) for domestic outlets. Fortunately broadcast TV has presumably faded away, but the 120 V 15 A outlet (not with earth conductor!) lives on. Forgive me if I've been on about this before.
Perhaps most charging will gradually change over to the NACS standard. Does that lock automatically? I think it does. There is still the issue of some anti-EV grub trying to yank out the cable, possibly causing some damage.
