Shares in Renault rose on Monday after Le Figaro said the French carmaker would post record 2010 vehicle sales and profits, and would unveil a fresh target for an operating margin of 4-5 percent in 2013.

By 1113 GMT, Renault shares were 2.4 percent higher at 45.1 euros. The STOXX Europe 600 Autos Index .SXAP was up 0.9 percent.

Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who is also head of Renault's alliance partner Nissan Motor, had told journalists on Thursday Renault was expecting a record year in terms of sales volumes, Le Figaro said.

The paper also said, without saying where it obtained the information, that the carmaker would sell 2.6 million vehicles in 2010 compared with 2.3 million last year, and would achieve revenue of 38 billion euros ($50 billion), with a net profit of 3.3 billion euros.

A spokeswoman said the carmaker expected record 2010 volumes, but declined to confirm the figures.

Carmakers expected a difficult 2010 as scrapping schemes that supported the market in 2009 faded, but booming demand from emerging regions has boosted sales, while demand for cars in Europe has held up better than feared.

The Renault spokeswoman confirmed that AvtoVAZ, the Russian carmaker in which Renault owns a 25 percent stake, would be profitable in 2010.

"They've been reaching that recently, albeit helped by scrappage schemes, and I think the Russian market will continue to recover steadily," said Morgan Stanley analyst Stuart Pearson.

Le Figaro said Renault would target an operating margin of 4-5 percent in 2013 and sales volumes between 2.6 million and 3 million vehicles as part of the new strategic plan it is due to present in February.

"It wouldn't be a huge surprise ... The bottom line is the stock doesn't currently fully value them doing 4-5 percent margins in 2013. It won't do until we see and understand the measures that are going to drive them toward that 4-5 percent margin," said Morgan Stanley's Pearson.

The two main areas of focus in the plan would be clean vehicles -- the two alliance partners are investing 4 billion euros in electric vehicles -- and growth in emerging markets, the paper said.

BIG FISH SMALL POND

Ghosn has repeatedly forecast electric vehicles (EVs) accounting for 10 percent of new car sales in the overall market by 2020. The Renault spokeswoman confirmed he said the alliance wanted its electric vehicle market share to be double that by 2020.

"They're clearly the ones who are investigating heavily in moving to pure EVs first so I would expect them to be a big fish in a relatively small pond, at least for the next few years."

Ghosn previously said the strategic plan would contain precise targets for an initial period as well as longer-term perspectives. Le Figaro said the two parts would refer to 2011-13 and 2013-16.

Renault was forced to drop a previously ambitious strategic plan when the crisis hit. Ghosn said in September that the new plan's targets would be "more realistic.

The paper reported that Renault saw 30 percent of its sales coming from the low-cost segment next year, and would sell 690,000 low-cost vehicles this year.

Sales of Renault's Dacia brand vehicles -- the Logan and Sandero models and the new Duster 4x4 -- rose 4 percent in October, while Renault brand sales fell 21.8 percent, according to data released by carmakers' association ACEA.

Renault wants to sell 1 million low-cost vehicles in 2015, Le Figaro reported.