Abstract: The vehicle interior is playing a vital role in occupant protection when the vehicle collision happens. According to the FMVSS201 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations,FMVSS) released by United States in 1998, a CAE (computer aided engineering) model was built including the impact location, hard point, material property, thickness, and the ribs of vehicle interior. The sensitivity of interior impact to the material property, thickness, and structure of the interior was studied. A simplified mechanical model was used to analyze the force of occupant’s head impact to the interior. The analysis method can be used to improve the design of the vehicle interior.

Key words: vehicle collision, occupant protection, vehicle interior, occupant head injury