UPDATE 1-Citroen says revamp, new DS will help it beat crisis

(Adds company official comments)

PARIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - France's Citroen on Thursday unveiled the first in a series of three new cars to carry its iconic "DS" insignia, pledging to launch a total of six vehicles in the next three years, and said revamped showrooms and improved customer service would help sales amid a car crisis.

The first in the range, the DS3, will go on sale from early 2010, said Vincent Besson, head of products and markets at the Citroen brand, the smaller of the two making up France's biggest carmaker PSA Peugeot (PEUP.PA) Citroen (PEUP.PA).

Like its peers, PSA is facing car market turmoil, with governments stepping in to help carmakers struggling to survive in the face of the credit crunch and a sales slump.

"Today the world is living through a crisis situation - a brutal, deep, generalised crisis. A crisis whose length and consequences no one can measure," said Besson.

But he said Citroen would carry on with its plan -- launched in late August 2007 -- to revamp showrooms, refresh its chevron logo and improve customer service, and would launch six new models in the next three years, including the first of the new DS line.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a launch event, marketing and communications director Xavier Chardon declined to say how much had been invested, but said: "when we look at the costs, in the end it is an investment which will save us money."

Citroen on Thursday unveiled its DS Inside concept car for the new range at a ceremony in Paris, demonstrating that while the new products carry the name of the iconic car of French presidents, launched in 1955 and made famous by films including "The Day of the Jackal," their appearance differs significantly.

The DS3 will belong to the "B" segment, while the two later models -- the DS4 and DS5 -- will belong to the M1 and M2 segments, Besson said.