diff --git a/cuda_core/cuda/core/__init__.py b/cuda_core/cuda/core/__init__.py
index dc6fefdffea..c84351855f0 100644
--- a/cuda_core/cuda/core/__init__.py
+++ b/cuda_core/cuda/core/__init__.py
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@
 from cuda.core._version import __version__
 
 
+# TODO: remove this function altogether after wheel-variants become mainstream
 def _import_versioned_module() -> None:
     import importlib
+    import pathlib
+    import sys
 
     from cuda import bindings
 
@@ -15,13 +18,13 @@ def _import_versioned_module() -> None:
         raise ImportError("cuda.bindings 12.x or 13.x must be installed")
 
     subdir = f"cu{cuda_major}"
-    try:
-        versioned_mod = importlib.import_module(f".{subdir}", __package__)
-        # Import all symbols from the module
-        globals().update(versioned_mod.__dict__)
-    except ImportError:
-        # This is not a wheel build, but a conda or local build, do nothing
-        pass
+    versioned_path = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent / subdir
+    # This is a wheel build with relevant modules in cuda/core/cu<cuda_major>
+    # directory. Let's add it to module path so imports work as expected.
+    # cuda.core.cu<cuda_major> is not meant to behave as a module itself, and
+    # does not belong in sys.modules
+    if versioned_path.is_dir():
+        __path__.append(str(versioned_path))
 
 
 _import_versioned_module()
diff --git a/cuda_core/tests/test_duplicate_imports.py b/cuda_core/tests/test_duplicate_imports.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..91c9aa6331a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cuda_core/tests/test_duplicate_imports.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+"""Tests cuda.core.__init__.py does not import duplicate modules."""
+
+import sys
+
+from cuda import bindings
+
+cuda_major = bindings.__version__.split(".")[0]
+
+
+def test_typing_module_imports():
+    """
+    Importing cuda.core.system should not also import cuda.core.cuXX.system
+    """
+
+    from cuda.core import *  # NOQA
+
+    assert "cuda.core.system" in sys.modules
+    assert f"cuda.core.cu{cuda_major}" not in sys.modules