SHANGHAI - Residents in the city will soon be able to rent cars for short periods under a new auto-rental model which is expected to reduce congestion and pollution in a city with more than 850,000 private cars.

The car-sharing model, one of the most popular projects displayed by Germany at the Urban Best Practices Area of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, will be promoted across the city, the Shanghai Dazhong Car Leasing Company said on Friday.

The model would be attractive to customers who only use a car occasionally, as well as to those who would sometimes like access to a vehicle of a different type from the one they use regularly.