Hyundai Motor Co., may have to pay around 120 billion won ($111.4 million) to consumers in its home market for exaggerating the fuel efficiency of its diesel-powered Santa Fe sport utility vehicle, the government said Monday.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the R2.0 engine, two-wheel-drive model of the popular SUV did not meet its reported mileage. The carmaker has appealed the results and asked for another test, whose results are expected late next month.

Hyundai claimed the SUV can travel 14.4 kilometers on a liter of diesel fuel, but tests conducted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority showed it had close to 10 percent less fuel efficiency. This exceeds the 5 percent permissible error limit set by the government for vehicle mileage.

The carmaker countered that an earlier test carried out by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed the Santa Fe meeting its stated fuel efficiency claims. (Yonhap)