A new damage model which takes account of void shape effect and anisotropy of the matrix material is integrated into the explicit finite element framework to predict the damage evolution which occurs under crash or stamping process. The void coalescence failure mechanism by internal necking is also considered by using a modified Thomason’s plastic limit-load model. An inverse method is developed to identify the material parameters by correlating experimental and numerical measurements with tensile tests on sheet-metal strips. The pathological mesh dependence has been overcome by a non-local approach where the evolution equation for the porosity is modified by an additional term containing a characteristic internal length. In this paper the evaluation of the Laplacian is based on a least square approximation of the internal state variable around each integration points. The presented formulation is applied to an Ni-based sheet-metal (INCO 718) and an aluminium alloy (AA 5182). The effectiveness of the numerical predictions is verified carrying out a set of experimental tests with a flat-headed punch.