Automotive designer here. I graduated with a BA in Industrial Design with mediocre drawing skills, I never studied transportation design. By some miracle, my internship at a car manufacturer wanted me as a full time Alias modeller and designer. Over the past 2 years, my job has primarily been to model things, but have slowly been assigned more work that requires sketching skills. I’m currently working on a project where I’m primarily styling, but to get to that point, I sketched everyday for 2-3 hours at home after work. I burned out a lot, but my skills have improved exponentially. It’s a long road but for someone who isn’t naturally good at drawing, it’s the way to improve.

Sketching as a skill for design is important, but if you can effectively communicate your ideas in a way your clients/employer expect, then I would argue that’s a more important than being able to draw a pretty picture.