The work aims to study the effects of section configuration and geometric parameters on the deformation mechanism and energy absorption performance of aluminum foam sandwiched double-tube under transverse load. Finite element software Abaqus/Explicit was used to carry out numerical simulation on the aluminum foam sandwiched double-tube under transverse load. The aluminum foam sandwiched double-tube exhibited three stages in the process of transverse compression, namely, the initial compression stage, the plastic deformation stage, and the densification stage. It was also found that the crashworthiness of a novel aluminum foam sandwiched double-tube, comprised of square outer and circular inner tubes, was significantly stronger than that of the double square tube structure. As the outer tube diameter increased and the inner tube diameter decreased, the load-bearing capacity and energy absorption capacity of the novel aluminum foam sandwiched double-tube increased. The increase in wall thickness of the inner tube resulted in an increasing trend in energy absorption, specific energy absorption, average crushing load, and crushing force efficiency. The deformation failure mode of aluminum foam core material is affected by the section shape of the inner tube. Compared with the traditional double square tube structure, the novel sandwiched double-tube is a better energy-absorbing component, which shows greater application potential in the safety protection of lateral collision. By increasing the distance between the inner and outer tubes and the wall thickness of the inner tube, the energy absorption performance of the novel sandwiched double-tube can be improved.