Maruti Suzuki, the country's biggest automaker, said it sold 182,448 vehicles in October, an increase of nearly 19% over the same period last year.

The company was hit hard by a months-long lockdown imposed in late March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, reporting a quarterly loss in July - the first time since its listing in 2003.

India's second-largest carmaker Hyundai said that it recorded its highest-ever domestic sales last month, selling 56,605 vehicles. The company's previous highest monthly sales was in October 2018, when it sold around 52,000 cars.

Mahindra & Mahindra, maker of popular sports utility vehicles, reported that domestic sales of passenger vehicles had increased by 1% in October, compared to last year.

"For Mahindra, the festive season has started on a positive note with deliveries and bookings being higher than last year," Veejay Nakra, CEO of the company's automotive division, said in a press release.

Some Indian businesses expect a boost in sales during the country's largest shopping season, spread over the festival period of October and November, with the pandemic shutdown leading to pent-up demand.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Toby Chopra)