Australians are more sceptical about driverless cars than those in many other countries, with a new poll showing one in six would never use one.

An Ipsos survey covering 28 countries found Australians were less optimistic than the international average about the perceived benefits of driverless cars including safety, speed, efficiency, cost, comfort, environmental impact and enjoyment.

In Australia 25 per cent said they “can’t wait to use” a driverless car – 5 percentage points lower than average. In China and India nearly half of those surveyed were in the “can't wait” camp.

The poll found 16 per cent of Australians “would never use” an autonomous vehicle, putting us “among the more sceptical nations” in the survey which probed international public opinions on a future with driverless cars.