diff --git a/bitsandbytes/cextension.py b/bitsandbytes/cextension.py
index b112df2f7..a68d6751e 100644
--- a/bitsandbytes/cextension.py
+++ b/bitsandbytes/cextension.py
@@ -298,7 +298,15 @@ def get_native_library() -> BNBNativeLibrary:
 
 
 try:
-    lib = get_native_library()
+    if hasattr(torch, "xpu") and torch.xpu.is_available():
+        if not ipex_xpu:
+            logger.warning(
+                "Detected Intel XPU without intel_extension_for_pytorch installed. Triton implementation will be used."
+            )
+        # create a mock with error messaging as fallback
+        lib = ErrorHandlerMockBNBNativeLibrary("XPU does not need library loading")
+    else:
+        lib = get_native_library()
 except Exception as e:
     error_msg = str(e)
     if not (ipex_cpu or ipex_xpu):