diff --git a/mayavi/api.py b/mayavi/api.py
index a571eb26..73d5f789 100644
--- a/mayavi/api.py
+++ b/mayavi/api.py
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 from mayavi.version import version, version as __version__
 from mayavi.core.engine import Engine
 from mayavi.core.off_screen_engine import OffScreenEngine
-from mayavi.tests.runtests import m2_tests as test
+try:
+    from mayavi.tests.runtests import m2_tests as test
+except ImportError:
+    pass