The P2M had five seats and had good cross-country mobility. It was normally used as a commander‘s personal vehicle and as a radio car. Roughly 4,000 vehicles were built at the VEB Fahrzeugwerke at Chemnitz.

An amphibious variant, the P2MS, was also developed; 169 of these vehicles were built.

The P2M was replaced in the early 1960s by the P3, as well as the Soviet-made half-ton GAZ-69.