Analyst Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank today weighed in on the struggling auto sector, and he warned that General Motors Corporation (GM: sentiment, chart, options) will ultimately be owned by its creditors and the United Auto Workers (UAW) once its restructuring is complete. Speaking at the Society of Automotive Analysts outlook conference, Lache noted that the odds are favoring a bankruptcy in the auto industry, but tempered his downbeat message by saying that such an occurrence likely wouldn't be as catastrophic as suppliers suspect.

In fact, Lache believes there's reason to be optimistic about the U.S. auto industry during the long term, although there's "plenty of risk along the way." The analyst believes that GM could save $3 billion by eliminating its UAW wage gap with Toyota Motor (TM) in the U.S., while competitor Ford Motor Company (F) could save $2.4 billion.

Lache made his comments at the media preview for this weekend's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Elsewhere at the event, GM's chief operating officer, Fritz Henderson, confessed, "People are wondering, 'Is the company going to make it? Is the company going to be viable?'" While Henderson didn't provide a satisfactory answer to either question, he did admit, "Until we actually answer those questions more satisfactorily, we'll continue to have that kind of volatility."

As those very questions weigh on investors' minds, GM is off 3.4% this afternoon at $4.01.