TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Honda Motor Co. plans to procure batteries for hybrid vehicles to be sold in the United States from a Toyota Motor Corp. plant in the country as part of efforts to realign its supply chain amid the threat of tariffs posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The Tokyo-based company aims to buy batteries produced at Toyota's factory in North Carolina starting fiscal 2025. The plant is expected to start shipments in April.

Honda has been buying batteries from manufacturers in Japan and other regions outside the United States and shipping them to the country for use in its production there.

The rare collaboration between Japan's two biggest automakers comes as the global auto industry grows increasingly wary of Trump's trade policy, which includes a plan to introduce a 25 percent tariff on auto imports.

The automakers' planned move will enable Honda to procure batteries in the United States without shouldering the burden of additional tariffs. Toyota also stands to benefit from it, as increased output would reduce the cost of production.

Demand for hybrid cars is growing in the United States as sales of electric vehicles slow. Trump is also rolling back his predecessor Joe Biden's clean-energy initiatives, advocating for boosting U.S. oil production.

Honda sold about 310,000 gasoline-electric cars in the United States in 2024, accounting for more than 20 percent of its U.S. sales, according to the company.

The automaker has said it will double its global hybrid car sales, excluding those in China, from its level in 2023 to 1.3 million units in 2030.