Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, (GAZ for short, or Gorky Automobile Plant translated to English), is a Russian automobile manufacturer founded in 1932 as a commercial vehicle production plant located Nizhny Novgorod. The plant is the byproduct of a 1928 deal between the then-Soviet Union and the Ford Motor Company, under which the Soviet Union agreed to purchase parts, and Ford supplied technical assistance. The first GAZ automobiles, the GAZ-AA and GAZ-A, rolled off the line soon thereafter in 1932.

Like elsewhere in the world, civilian production slowed during World War II, during which only a few GAZ models were rolled out for commercial purposes. The Soviet Union focused production on tanks and armored vehicles, cranking out some 150,000 such vehicles by September 1945 including the IS-series tanks, T-34 tank and tank destroyer, and D-8 armored car. To supplement their production and aide in defense of the Eastern Front, the Allied forces supplied the Soviet Union with vehicles including tanks, trucks, and tractors. Additionally, the U.S. delivered the Ford GPA 4x4 and DUKW 6x6 amphibious vehicles to help tackle the various rivers and lakes dotting the Eastern Front.

The amphibious vehicle was so well-received among Soviet military tacticians that plans for their own model were made at the conclusion of World War II. They turned to GAZ, leveraging their vast production capacity and existing commercial models, particularly the GAZ-69, as a source of parts. As a result, the GAZ-46 was born.

The GAZ-46 utilized the GAZ 2,112 cc. I4 engine and included 4-wheel drive, but relied on a tri-blade propeller driven by a cardan shaft from the transfer case, waterproof run-flat tires, waterproof steel hull on steel frame, and open-air crew compartment to carry a driver, co-driver, and a up to four additional passengers via a rear bench seat. Production began in 1952 and ended in 1958, during which an estimated 2,000 total units left the floor.