A lot of the big tech stores here in the US have separate counters for each of the major mobile carriers, and sell devices that are locked into those contracts. You can sometimes get unlocked phones from big tech stores, but most of what they carry is locked to a carrier.

I'm with you. A car is an expensive purchase, so it's difficult to justify rushing into a new one. But I'll definitely be going either PHEV or EV on my next vehicle.