The French Army was a major user of the British Ferret scout car and it was therefore a matter of time before it designed a similar but more powerfully armed vehicle, this being the Panhard AML (Auto Mitrailleuse Légère or 'light machine gun car'). The AML retained the 4x4 all-welded steel design, and general configuration of the Ferret, with the driver seated at the front, the engine at the rear, and the middle of the vehicle composing the fighting compartment. Numerous types of turrets were built for the AMLO, with the earliest being a a rounded design armed with twin 7.62-mm machine guns and a 60-mm mortar but then moving to redesigned turrets mounting a 20-mm autocannon plus the mortar. The most powerful were armed with a 90-mm D921 F1 rifled gun which could fire both HEAT and HE rounds. This gave it a respectable degree of anti-tank capability especially considering the low weight of the vehicle, although it suffered due to the gun's low muzzle velocities, simple fire-control system, and the inability to fire on the move. Nevertheless, they were known to have taken out T-55s and T-62s in combat.Many of the AML's additional features such as NBC protection and amphibious capability were optional. Like the Ferret, the AML became a major export succes serving with dozens of countries around the world, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Major users included Iraq, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa (where it was license-produced), Spain, Yemen, and Zaire. They saw action in a myriad of conflicts including the Arab-Israeli wars, Lebanon, and border wars in South Africa and the Toyota War between Chad and Libya.

Development of the AML started in 1956 following successful experience with the British Ferret and the first prototype was ready in 1959. Two basic versions were built, the AML 60 which had an H 60 turret that typically mounted machine guns and autocannon, and the AML 90 which had a larger H 90 turret that mounted a D921 F1 gun. Variants of the AML 60 included the AML 60-7 with twin 7.62-mm machine guns and a 60-mm mortar, the AML 60-12 with a larger 12.7-mm machine gun, the AML 60-20 which substituted the machine guns for a 20-mm autocannon. A more advanced version of the latter was the AML 60-20 Serval with a redesigned turret, option for an Oerlikon autocannon, and a more sophisticated fire-control system. AML 90 variants included the AML 90 Lynx which also featured a redesigned turret with modern electronics including a laser rangefinder. Foreign versions include the AML S530 SPAAG for Venezuela, and the Eland which was license-built for South Africa and also came with various armament configurations. The export-only M3 VTT amphibious APC also used the AML's chassis and drive train.