When lightning strikes an automobile, the metal frame provides the path of least impedance to the ground, protecting the vehicle’s occupants from injury. But as lightning flows over the frame or through the vehicle’s electrical systems, it can damage sensitive components or even melt solder joints. The amount of electronics in vehicles is on the rise, so protection from lightning is becoming more important than ever. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with support from ESSS, the ANSYS channel partner in South America, uses ANSYS electromagnetic field simulation software to model lightning strikes and predict their impact on vehicle electronics so that future vehicles can be designed to be more resistant to damage.