It was designed to carry a squad of 8 fully armed panzergrenadiers (Swedish: pansarskyttesoldater) into battle and provide direct-fire support for them in combat.

Inside the vehicle were mountings for a variety of infantry weapons and munitions, such as an FN MAG and a Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle with 9 rounds.

The pbv 301 was an interim solution, built on the chassis from the obsolete stridsvagn m/41 tank (which in turn is the licensed variant of the Czech THN/LT vz.

It was introduced in 1961 and removed from service in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the replacement pbv 302 came into use.

The pbv 301 replaced the open-topped terrängbil m/42 KP IFV as the main infantry fighting vehicle of the Swedish Army.