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BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France, July 5 (Reuters) French car maker Renault reported a 3.8 percent drop in first-half global vehicle sales on Thursday but said new models, like its revamped Twingo and Laguna, would ensure a modest sales rise in 2007.

Global first-half sales at Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors fell to 1.27 million vehicles, with a marked 9.1 percent drop in Europe. Renault said it had a 3.6 percent share of the world market.

Renault, which is overhauling its ageing model line up, said it expected group sales for 2007 overall to increase slightly due to the launch of new models.

In 2008 it plans to launch one new model a month on average.

Management board member Patrick Blain, head of sales, said sales would pick up in the last quarter of 2007 and really take off in 2008.

''In 2008 the sales will rise again after two long years of monthly declines,'' Blain told journalists.

The Laguna, which should become the flag carrier of the new model range, is due to be launched in September at the Frankfurt car show. The company wants it to be among the top three in its class, competing with rivals such as Germany's BMW and Audi.

Renault maintained its target for a three percent operating profit margin for 2007.

''In Europe, as announced, the first half remained on a downtrend, but sales will start to bounce back again in the second half with the arrival of new Twingo and new Laguna,'' Blain said.

GROWTH IN FINAL QUARTER ''Outside Europe, sales growth will remain strong in the second half,'' he added.

Worldwide sales of the Renault brand fell 4.9 percent in the first half, while those of Dacia rose 8 percent to 111,834 vehicles, powered by the Logan no-frills car.

Renault said its 2007 sales would rise notably in the last quarter.

''The figures contained no surprises but the dynamism of sales outside Europe was good,'' said analyst Gaetan Toulemonde at Deutsche Bank, adding the market was expecting Renault to beat the three percent margin target for 2007.

Renault shares fell 1.63 percent to 118.55 euros by 1401 GMT.

Blain said that sales of the new Twingo, launched in France, Italy and Slovenia and due be launched in other European countries in the coming months, was going ''two to three times better than expected''. But he gave no targets.

Renault has turned the new Twingo into more full-fledged car compared to its quirky predecessor as it aims to widen its customer base. ''Twingo was very much a French car, at the end of its life sales were for half in France and half abroad,'' Blain said.

The new Twingo, however, will also have a right-hand drive version for Britain and a more dynamic GTI version as well as the classic model.

In the sector of small cars, Fiat on Wednesday launched the 500, a new model harking back to its legendary predecessor.

''Fiat made a different choice. They decided to go retro and we decided to develop a new car for the customer segment we want to serve,'' Blain said.

''The 500 will be a hit in Italy, that is sure, but we'll see what happens elsewhere,'' he added.

LOGAN International sales rose, with a 97.8 percent rise in Venezuela for instance, driven by Logan. The group now has a production capacity of some 400,000 vehicles and will ramp this up to a million by 2009.

Blain denied media reports that the group was planning to build a factory for Logan in Indonesia. ''We are in talks everywhere in the world to see how we can increase production but there are no concrete plans,'' he said.

Renault's Korean Samsung unit will launch a crossover which will arrive in Europe in 2008 as the Koleos, giving Renault a late entry in the sports utility vehicle market, where its alliance partner Nissan cannot make enough of the Qasquai to meet booming demand in Japan and Europe.

''That segment is growing fast and it is cannibalising the main stream segment,'' said Blain, adding this would mainly impact the Espace multi purpose vehicle and to a lesser extent the group's biggest model of the Megane family.

''That means that for the next Espace we will have to tailor it to lower volumes,'' he added.

Renault is studying whether it can take up the challenge of Indian rival Tata to produce a vehicle at $3,000, cheaper still than the Logan. ''We'll have to see what they come up with. It will certainly be a small car, with a light engine,'' he said.

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